


Journey to the Past

by TwilightMaster15



Category: Death Note (Anime & Manga), InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Inuyasha Au, M/M, Past Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-26
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:09:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 23,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22904509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwilightMaster15/pseuds/TwilightMaster15
Summary: In ancient Japan, a Hanyou named Kira, or Light to those he trusted, tried to steal the Shikon Jewel from L to become pure-blooded demon. L strikes Kira with an enchanted arrow, placing him in supposedly eternal sleep. L retrieved the Jewel before he died, having given his life to seal Light away. In his final moments, he asks his younger brother to burn the Jewel with his body, so he could take it somewhere irretrievable to those who would abuse it.In the modern era, Ryuzaki Lawliet falls down a well and is attacked by a demon. When he drives the demon off by an unknown power, he emerges in the past, wandering until coming across a sleeping Kira. Then Near reveals Ryuzaki is the reincarnation of L, and he possesses the Shikon Jewel. Eventually given no choice, Ryuzaki awakens Kira and frees him from the tree.After Ryuzaki accidentally shatters the Jewel, the pieces scatter far and wide, and Kira and Ryuzaki need to go on adventures to find the lost shards. As they search, they meet new people who either join them on their quest or oppose them for various reasons. Along the way, the two come closer and develop feelings for each other, trying not to let that distract them from their main goal.
Relationships: L/Yagami Light
Comments: 18
Kudos: 53





	1. Fall of Kira and L

In the forest of feudal Japan, the villagers panicked as one of their nets raised far above the ground, supposed to contain the attacking Hanyou known as Kira. However, it was clear the half-demon was far more powerful than they had expected, slashing through the net effortlessly with a malicious grin on his face. Grappling hooks were shot at him, but they were easy to dodge.

"It's Kira!" A soldier screamed, one of many trying to protect the village while their Priest thought of a plan.

It took mere moments for Kira to practically fly above the ground, crashing into the building housing the all-mighty Shikon Jewel, the one thing which would give him the power he needed to become a pureblood demon.

Ignoring the flames around him, Kira covered his mouth with the sleeve of his robe, grabbing the amulet, with the gem at the center being the object he had come for, just in time for villagers to come in, throwing spears at him. He smirked, jumping an inhuman height, bursting through the roof from the same hole he had made getting in. Below him, the temple caught fire and then exploded.

"That'll teach you!" Kira laughed, "With this in my possession… I can become a real demon, God of the New World!" He was about to land on the ground gently as though he hadn't been dozens of feet in the air mere moments ago. But then he heard a painfully familiar voice call to him, no matter how monotone it sounded, it was clear there was anger and even betrayal. Kira scoffed, what right did L have to feel betrayed?

"Light!" L called, and Kira was taken aback by the use of his human name, startling him enough that he didn't notice until it was too late that L had fired an enchanted arrow, which hit him in the chest, pinning him to the tree he had been moments ago ready to whiz past. He shrieked at the sudden pain, and the necklace fell out of his hands, all while L looked at him with no emotion on his face other than the slightest bit of determination, blue hair blowing in the wind.

Kira tried to reach for the necklace to have enough power to overcome the enchantment he was quickly realizing was laced into the arrow. But he felt himself getting weaker as the seconds passed, and even speaking became a struggle,

"L...! How could... I thought..." he raised his hand, struggling for a moment, remembering everything he had with L, and for a moment just wanting him, before the edges of his vision blurred, and it became harder and harder to focus until he fell into a deathless slumber. This was how he would stay until a strong enough magic was able to overpower L's spell.

...

As Kira's body went limp, the Priest known as L slowly walked to retrieve the fallen necklace, but it grew harder and harder. Light didn't know, but this enchantment had taken what remained of his lifespan to use, to make sure the Hanyou was contained, but not hurt, and maybe one day he would awaken. But... why? L had thought they were... Light had said they would use the jewel together so he could be fully human, what had changed?

He felt what remained of his rapidly ending life flicking and humming, and he collapsed next to the necklace, pulling it close. His duties as the guardian of the jewel came first. He could protect it, and hopefully, nobody worse than Light would be able to use it ever.

As his eyelids grew heavy, his eyes widened as he realized exactly what had caused Light's betrayal. Beyond Birthday! That damn Hanyou, no doubt he pretended to be L again and did something...

But it was too late to change the past, L knew he wasn't going to live much longer, and he knew that there was a high chance he wouldn't have lived to see Light awaken regardless. A little boy with white hair ran over to him,

"L!" Near tried desperately to keep his older brother awake. L smiled up at the boy gifted with longevity. He was thirteen but looked no older than ten, and was always going to age much slower. Maybe Near would live to see Light revived from his eternal slumber.

"Lord L!" Someone shouted for a healer, "He's severely wounded!" Near cupped L's face, keeping his dying brother's head in his lap.

"L... how did you get hurt? Did Kira attack you?" L shook his head, holding the necklace up to Near, who pushed it away, "We need to tend to your injury!"

"I am beyond saving." L whispered, "So listen to me, Nate. Take this Sacred Jewel…and burn it with my body. It must never get into the hands of those who would abuse it." He clenched the orb on the necklace tightly, gasping for breath momentarily, before accepting death in open arms, and his heart stopped. He died with a faint smile on his face, the last thing he heard was his brother pleading for him to stay alive.

OoOoO

Near placed the Shikon Jewel on the corpse of his older brother moments before the pyre was lit. He refused to cry, no matter how distraught he was. It was his job to defend the village now, and he vowed that as long as he lived, Kira would remain asleep on that tree. Nobody was going to wake him except for L, and with L gone...

The pyre was surrounded with flowers, as L was beloved by all in the village, their eccentric leader who had befriended and fallen in love with a Hanyou, only to have that very same Hanyou betray him. Near didn't know why Kira would have done that, but he hated the half-demon nonetheless and felt eternal sleep was too good for him.

He bowed his head, playing with a strand of his hair as he knew L's body was burning away, and he gasped when he heard his brother's voice in his mind.

_"The Sacred Jewel…I will take it with me to the other world."_

Near knew what that meant. One way or another, L's soul would return, maybe in the form of another, and would protect the jewel once again. He didn't care how long it took, glad for his gift to live longer than the average human, so he could see his older brother's return. Maybe Kira would awaken after all.


	2. The Boy Who Overcame Time

Ryuzaki Lawliet read through the books his adopted father had gifted to him about the temple they had purchased, "A Sacred Jewel?" He read through the legends of this Shikon Jewel and the replica on the shelf. 

The idea of actually using his vast wealth to buy a temple of all things seemed silly to Ryuzaki. He was twenty-four and already a world-renown detective under both his aliases Eraldo Coil and Deneuve. Watari said it was time for him and his sister to settle down for a change in Tokyo, but Ryuzaki was perfectly happy to keep working.

Watari examined the book, "The legends say the jewel will bring happiness and prosperity without fail." Ryuzaki chuckled a bit,

"Given my success on cases, maybe I have this Shikon Jewel." He rolled his eyes, absently biting into the piece of cake he had been given and wincing at a sharp pain at his side, which had been getting increasingly worse since they had moved here. He was supposed to go to the doctor tomorrow to get it looked at because it was getting hard to breathe at times. He wondered if he was going insane, but it felt as though something was trying to tear its way out. "Or maybe I don't have it if these spasms keep acting up."

"Maybe try sitting normally?" Watari offered, and Ryuzaki narrowed his eyes,

"Watari, that would reduce my deductive reasoning skills by 40%, and I can't have that. We'll see what the doctor says tomorrow. You have one of my aliases ready, correct?"

"Of course."

Ryuzaki got up, "Maybe I'll walk around the grounds to see if that makes this stop." He clutched his side and slipped on some shoes, taking a moment to adjust to the orthotics inside before being able to walk. "Watari, can you prepare a heat pack for me just in case?" Watari nodded, but Ryuzaki didn't see as he headed out, feeling the crisp autumn night air. The moon shone brightly above, even though the stars were drowned out by the overpowering city lights. He couldn't help but wish he was back at Wammy's House, which was far enough away from everything that the stars were gorgeous.

He absently noticed the thousand-year-old sacred tree, or he had also heard it called the Tree of Ages, he had read about, which was not far from a well also on their property. Ryuzaki had yet to read the stories of what made these things so special, but he couldn't help but be curious if he would be staying around.

As he walked, he frowned when he saw his adopted little sister, Linda, standing by the door to the hut with the Hidden Well. She looked afraid, and he walked towards her, "Linda? What are you doing out so late? You're not supposed to play around here."

She turned, "Buyo's down there." Ryuzaki's brow furrowed, and he walked over, thinking about their calico cat. Why would he be down there?

He looked inside the eerie room that made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. Something about this hut seemed far too familiar, like a scattered memory he couldn't piece together no matter how hard he tried, so he typically tried to avoid this place as much as possible. 

His gaze moved to what may have been bones surrounding the well at the bottom of the stairs. When describing a well, Ryuzaki always thought of circular and made of stone, but this one was anything but—square and made of wood. However, the most notable feature was the fact it was covered with planks and some sort of charm that Ryuzaki had yet to translate. He would have by now, but this place disturbed him too much.

"Buyo!" Linda hid behind Ryuzaki, "I think he's at the bottom." Ryuzaki looked down at her. She was nine, much younger than him, so he understood why she wouldn't want to go down there. But seeing as he didn't want to either, he had to ask, 

"Why don't you go down?" She shrieked when a noise was heard from below, "Something's down there!"

Ryuzaki put a thumb to his lips, "Yes, I believe that is the cat." He decided to get it over with and walk down there, but he froze when he realized that scratching sound wasn't from the cat. It was...

_Is that coming from inside the well? That can't be. Judging by the wood, nobody has opened that thing in centuries. Could something that size even be alive in there after all this time?_

He looked down and saw Buyo at his feet, purring loudly. He relaxed and bent down to pick up the cat when suddenly he heard something behind him, and then cried out in agony as the pain at his hip became more severe than ever before to the point he wondered how he was even standing.

From his peripheral vision, he saw a light that was far too bright to be natural. But he found his body was practically frozen, or perhaps everything was going in slow motion for him as he heard the sounds of wood splintering, and then far too many hands were grabbing him, pulling him backward.

"Ryuzaki!" He dully heard Linda shout as he was pulled in, but everything was going black in his vision until he was finally able to move, and his eyes widened when he realized it was a topless woman with six arms grabbing onto him. He cringed, not appreciating the view that most men his age would kill for.

"Such joy!" the disturbing woman said with a cheer that made Ryuzaki extremely uneasy, "I can feel my strength returning! My body is coming to life again!"

Ryuzaki looked down, grateful to not see any bare legs, but he wasn't sure the actual view he had was any better. The apparent centipede's lower body, which was just bones, filled out and turns into a long centipede body right before his eyes.

"You have it, don't you? Don't you? Give it to me." The centipede ordered, licking Ryuzaki's face with her long pointed tongue, which was finally the moment his brain could process what was happening. Whether his side pain was causing violent hallucinations or not, he had to get out of this, especially as the monster kept pulling him down down down into whatever this place was.

"Let me go!" He struggled for a moment and then was able to shove his left hand into the centipede's face, "Let me go, I said!"

Blinding light emitted from Ryuzaki's palm, which threw the centipede back, releasing him to float in whatever this place was, slowly sinking, and he had lost track of the world above.

"You little…!" The centipede shrieked, "You won't escape from me! The Sacred Jewel…!" She faded away, and Ryuzaki felt himself still sinking, and he looked down to see a pink light glowing inside his stomach. He lifted up his shirt and prodded it, realizing the glowing's main point was the same as the pains he had been feeling. _I really need to see a doctor._

But then he considered what the centipede had said, and what he had read in his books, "The Sacred Jewel?"

He then realized he was at the bottom of the well, thankfully not in any pain like a fall like that would suggest. Judging by the bright sunlight above, he wondered if whatever pain-induced acid-trip he had just been on had left him unconscious down here for a while.

Then he turned and saw a detached arm which must be from the creepy centipede woman, and he was no longer sure if he had woken up from the dream, backing away from it and managing to stand, "Linda!" he called, "Are you there? Get Watari!"

There was no answer. Ryuzaki gently prodded his side again before decided that he would be able to climb the oddly lively vines in the well, which the inside of turned out to be stone. He gripped onto the vines and began the climb upwards, struggling a bit but managing to quickly get the hang of it.

He was surprised when a white butterfly flew around near him. Had Linda left the door open?

He reached the ledge and hoisted himself up, and as soon as he got a look at his surroundings, he began to panic as he realized a big problem.

He wasn't in the hut anymore. He seemed to be in a forest instead, with lush greenery and even more trees ahead. He decided after a moment of contemplation that he was probably in some sort of lucid dream. Maybe he was in a coma.

Until he could figure out what the hell was going on, he decided to stick to the coma dream theory even though it only had a 20% chance of being true, but that was higher than all other possibilities he could think of. Birds chirped around him, and he examined his surroundings to see if anything was familiar. Dreams were part of the subconscious, so while this may be a warped version, he had to have at least some idea of where he was.

He almost instantly pinpointed the sacred tree and concluded he was still on his property, just a weird version of it in his head, so he determined the best course of action was to head in that direction. It wasn't very far, so he didn't have much time to contemplate a plan for once he got there.

Once he got there, his theory of this all being a dream was seriously shaken. There was no way his mind could create what was in front of him.

He laid eyes on the most beautiful boy he had ever seen. He was pinned to the tree, and roots had grown around him, keeping him held up maybe five feet off the ground. But what had Ryuzaki alarmed was the arrow pierced through his chest and that he seemed to be either dead or deeply unconscious. The roots and tree height suggested he had been here for a very long time. If he was alive, how? If he was dead, why were there no signs of bodily decay?

He hoisted himself up on the roots, examining the arrow which was buried dangerously close to his heart, and he checked for a pulse, finding a slow one, and his shallow breathing also suggested he was merely asleep.

Ryuzaki shook the boy who seemed to be around his age, maybe a little younger, and he observed the windswept impossibly crimson hair. Not even hair dye could make it that color for longer than a couple days. There were so many things to take in about this boy, but Ryuzaki's next observation was his delicately pointed ears, and then his robes, which matched his hair, but had black accents.

Who was this boy? Why did he have an arrow in his chest? Ryuzaki tried to think about where he had seen this boy before because if this was a dream, he must have, right? Maybe one of the victims on a case he worked on? No... he would have remembered a face like this.

He decided that no matter who this boy was, he needed to get help to explain why this boy was seemingly comatose on the sacred tree.

It turned out he didn't have to because he felt the presence of others before he heard the shout in his direction, "You there! What are you up to?!"

Ryuzaki turned hesitantly and saw villagers in peculiar clothes, making him feel out of place in his white shirt and jeans. All of them had arrows at the ready to make a kill. He instantly knew that whoever they were, they would not be helping him with this boy.

He yelped and ducked when a barrage of arrows were fired at him, but all of them missed, and he just then realized he was pressed against the boy's chest. He moved away a bit but didn't even have time to speak before the villagers attacked him.


	3. Kira Revived

Ryuzaki struggled against the ropes on his hands and ankles, finding himself uncomfortable on the straw mat in the village square he had been sat on. All the villagers stared at him uncomfortably, debating whether his appearance was a sign of war, and none of them were answering his question of why exactly he was tied up.

From the fear everyone had shown of the sleeping boy in the forest, Ryuzaki suspected it had something to do with him, but he honestly had no idea whatsoever.

"Make way for High Priest Near!"

Ryuzaki snapped up, hoping to get some answers, and he saw a man who didn't seem much older than Ryuzaki himself, probably in his mid-to-late twenties, with long white hair flowing to his hips. He was wearing a poorly done kimono and had a quiver of arrows at his back.

This person, Near, apparently, did not look at Ryuzaki with the fear the others did. He looked nothing short of shocked and bordering on horrified. Without warning, he grabbed Ryuzaki's chin and looked at him,

"It's like you're a copy of him," he muttered, his voice almost haunted, and then he pulled out some powder of some sort and threw it at Ryuzaki, who coughed. 

"Who?" Ryuzaki spat out some of the dust, and Near gave a hollow smile.

"Untie him." He ordered the villagers, then looked back down at Ryuzaki, "It's getting dark. Come with me."

OoOoO

Night had fallen, and Ryuzaki was given some stew by Near. He looked down at the meal, dismayed it wasn't sweets, but then his stomach growled, and he decided to eat what he was given, nodding small thanks.

Near stared down at the small fire in his hut, where he was cooking, "Apologies for how you were brought here. With so many wars these days, our young ones have become rash. Even if I tell them we have no business with wars, they refuse to listen and only give me more to worry about."

"Young ones?" Ryuzaki looked Near over, "You don't look much older than me."

"I'm actually close to sixty," Near replied, "Whether it's a blessing or a curse to have longevity, it all depends on who you ask."

As the day had gone on, Ryuzaki had become more and more apprehensive at the idea that maybe this somehow wasn't a dream. "This isn't Tokyo."

"Is that your homeland? Because I've never heard of such a place."

Ryuzaki shrugged, "I guess you can say it's my homeland. I'd like to go home soon." Not that I know how, exactly…

He winced as another sharp pain came from his gut, and he grunted a little bit as this one was more sudden than others. Near turned to him with concern, "Ryuzaki, are you alright?"

Ryuzaki didn't get time to answer that question due to the sounds of warning bells, crashing, and screams. Both of them rushed out and sat the centipede monster from before, eating a horse. Arrows were fired at it but to no avail. 

He and Near barely managed to dodge the horse being thrown at them, and Ryuzaki growled, "That again!"

"Give me the Sacred Jewel!" The Centipede ordered, swooping down to kill both Near and Ryuzaki, missing only a few centimeters.

Near seemed to be in some form of shock, "The Sacred Jewel?" He turned to Ryuzaki, "Do you have it?"

"I only just read about the jewel earlier today, but I don't have it!" But for some reason, the Centipede seemed to be under the impression he did have it, and the more the name of the Jewel was said, the more intense the pain in Ryuzaki's abdomen became until he wasn't sure he would be able to stand.

Near rushed over and helped him up, "We have to lure the Centipede to the Dry Well in the Kira Forest."

Kira forest? That must be the name of the boy! He had heard it a few times, and if he could fully think, he may ask about Kira. But he realized something more important. _That's the well I climbed out of._

He managed to stand on his own trembling legs, "Which way is the forest? Where the light is shining?" He managed to feel a new rush of adrenaline when seeing that light and didn't hear Near asking what he was talking about.

As he ran, he felt the pain increase, but this time, it somehow gave him the strength to run as fast as he could towards the psychedelic-colored sky above the forest. Hesitantly, he pulled up his shirt, and his eyes widened to see dark bruising, possibly internal bleeding, where the stabbing pains had been coming from. Meaning that wasn't all in his head.

He would never admit out-loud how terrified he was in his moment, wondering frantically, _Will I be saved?! Will I?_ He looked back, and the Centipede was chasing him, _Watari! Anyone!_ He stumbled a bit, and with another pain in his abdomen, his pride was gone for long enough to shout, "Someone help me!"

...

With a jolt, Kira was awake, and the first thing he registered was a familiar scent... L. L was coming closer.

He blinked a couple times so his vision could clear, and moved his hands a bit, claws coming out, and he could sense L coming closer and closer. He could tell that his former love was afraid too. What could be so bad to have him come running back after what he did?

Kira smirked darkly. If L thought he would be getting any help, then he was wrong. He went to remove the arrow in his chest and glowered at the soft blue glow from it, making it clear L had enchanted the arrow so only he could remove it.

 _Damn him!_ He sighed, knowing he would have to wait for L to come to try and fetch him to be freed. If he was as desperate and terrified as his scent was implying, then this shouldn't be too much of a trouble.

...

Ryuzaki managed to get his balance again and continued to run, only hoping his adrenaline would let him keep this up. Part of him wondered how he hadn't collapsed from internal bleeding yet.

He sprinted up a steep slope, managing to stay on his feet, with the monster continuing to scream, "Give me the Sacred Jewel!"

"I don't have it!" He shouted, only for the monster to dive into the ground and send Ryuzaki flying a good dozen feet and into a landing he is sure should have killed him. He laid there for a moment, trying to get his screaming muscles to obey him and keep going just a little farther to get home.

He was shocked to hear a patronizing voice, "Hey L! Why are you wasting time with the Centipede Monster?"

Ryuzaki looked up and saw a very-much-awake Kira looking down at him, attractive features twisted into a mix of fury and mild amusement. He blinked at Kira, "You're awake?"

Kira scoffed, "Why are you taking so long to kill it? Just do her like you did me." He seemed puzzled for a moment, "The L I know wouldn't waste his time."

Ryuzaki accepted the moment of relief from his pain and stood up, growing irritated and almost liking it better when this boy was asleep. But since there seemed to be a case of mistaken identity, he didn't take it personally. "My name isn't L, it's—" but he was interrupted by Kira jerking upright,

"She's here."

Ryuzaki looked up just in time to dodge the Centipede's attack, and he sighed with relief when a few spears were stabbed into the monster by some villagers.

However, Kira looked extremely unimpressed and laughed a bit, "How long have I been asleep, L? I wouldn't expect any amount of time to make you rely on these mortals to protect you."

Ryuzaki got up and walked up the roots, getting closer to Kira, "I'm not L. I don't know what you have against him, but now is really not the time to take whatever grudge you have out on me."

Kira frowned and then blinked with surprise, "You're not him."

"Exactly. My name is Ryuzaki. Now that you know I'm not L, can you maybe help us?"

Kira looked away from him, "Yeah, L was hotter... much hotter."

Even though he didn't care about his appearance, Ryuzaki still took offense to that but decided it wasn't his problem.

He yelped when he felt five hands on him and gripped onto Kira's robes to not be pulled away by the Centipede monster, trying to squirm free, not seeing Near arrive and be both enraged and stunned by Kira being freed from the spell.

He managed to free himself slightly, just in time to dodge a bite, which would have been fatal, throwing his hand out, "Get back!" And once again, pink light shot out of his hand, causing the rest of the Centipede's arms to fall off.

He heard murmurs of amazement as he fell to his knees on the ground, looking at his hands, remembering doing something like that in the well. But why? Why was he able to do these things, and if he had been able to do so all along, why was it only showing here.

He looked down and realized his abdomen was glowing that same pink color, and he lifted his shirt up, and he realized with dread that there really was something inside him that shouldn't be. Would he need to have surgery to safely remove this thing?

He cried out and doubled over in pain as the object inside him tried even harder to get out, and he wasn't sure if his senses had broken or not as everything went fuzzy because he didn't notice the fact he had been thrown into the air by the Centipede. Whether he had been bitter or his stomach exploded, he didn't know, just that there was now a small pink orb falling next to him, and it was as though everything was happening in slow motion.

Was that the Sacred Jewel? He distantly realized he had hit the ground, and Kira was screaming at him to hurry and give him the Jewel.

Ryuzaki barely heard him, struggling to lift his hand and gently touching where the Jewel had torn out of him, realizing he was losing a lot of blood. Hm... he probably shouldn't be losing this much blood, right...?

He finally started coming slightly back to reality when the Centipede grabbed him and pinned him to the tree against Kira's chest. Kira looked down at him with something akin to curiosity. Ryuzaki whimpered just a bit when the Centipede's grip on the tree tightened. The little orb was sitting on the ground, where Near had run over and retrieved it.

The Centipede examined Kira, "I heard that a half-demon brat was after the Sacred Jewel. So you're the one?"

Ryuzaki looked up through half-lidded eyes. A half-demon?

Kira scoffed, "Don't underestimate me. Half's all I need to kick your ass—anything more, and you'd be a waste of my time. I can take care of you if I really get down to business."

"You know, you talk big," Ryuzaki mumbled, "But can you back it up?"

"And what do you think I can do right now?" He gestured to the arrow, "Remove the arrow, and I'll show you what I can do."

"Don't remove it!" Near shouted, rolling out of the way of Centipede trying to get the Jewel from him, "That arrow secures the spell on Kira! You must not free him!"

"Wake up, sheep!" Kira snapped, "Do you want to become fodder for the Centipede?! All it has to do is wait until you tire out, and then it gets that Jewel." He glared at Ryuzaki, "Come on! He may be suicidal, but do you want to die here?"

He didn't understand what was going on, and his deductive reasoning had sapped away with a decent amount of his blood. All he had was the primal desire to survive, deciding to follow the option that meant survival.

He grabbed the arrow, and it disintegrated into blue lights at his touch.

Kira began to shake for a moment, and then his eyes flew open, alight with power. He started laughing, and already Ryuzaki wondered if he had made the right choice in freeing the boy, who let loose raw power, destroying the Centipede's lower body in a small explosion, and causing Ryuzaki to roll onto the ground and watch in amazement at what was happening.

Kira brandished sharp claws and lunged at the Centepide, going for the lower jaw and from there splitting the entire monster in half in one clean blow. Then the apparently half-demon landed softly on the ground, looking at the corpse of his prey as though it had been pathetically easy.

Ryuzaki winced a bit but realized his senses were back, seeing Near had done something to stop the bleeding, and was bandaging up the wound, which somehow already seemed about halfway through the healing process. But the Priest didn't seem happy at all as Ryuzaki looked at Kira in awe, "He wasn't bluffing about being powerful."

"I wish he was," Near grumbled, handing him the Sacred Jewel, "Only you can possess the Jewel." In a hushed voice as though talking to himself, he muttered, "You, who looks so much like my brother."

He held the Jewel in his hands, looking to Near, "Why was this hiding inside of me? What am I even supposed to do with this?" He supposed he could take it home because nobody seemed to be looking for it there.

He heard the sound of movement in the grass, and he turned to see Kira, who was smirking menacingly, "No human has a possible use for it." He examined his claws, "So if you don't want me to use you to sharpen my claws, just get it over with and give me the Sacred Jewel."

Ryuzaki instantly knew he had made a big mistake.


	4. The New Guardian

Ryuzaki managed to get to his feet, and the villagers were ready to go for the kill on Kira, who looked at them all as though they were nothing but fleas to him. Looking down at the wound on his abdomen where this Jewel had just torn itself out of him, he wondered if he would be physically capable of running should it come down to that. 

This Jewel was supposed to make demons more powerful from what he could tell, which would explain why the Centipede and now Kira were after it. Had it been helping him get here, or had that just been his adrenaline? Kira said it was worthless to humans, but could he trust the half-demon's word?

Near stood between Kira and Ryuzaki, "Pay no attention to Kira."

Kira growled, "I hate having to wait, and I hate how much like him you are." With that, he charged at Ryuzaki, gaining speed rapidly and only ducking quickly saved him from being murdered instantly by Kira's claws as he went for a leap and swipe.

Taking advantage of Kira's momentum making his landing, Ryuzaki took that time to stand, but it was clear Kira was not happy about having missed, cracking his knuckles,

"Oh? You're actually going to make this a challenge? Alright then, I'll actually try this time."

He didn't even doubt for a second that Kira was serious, but was relieved by the minor distraction of the villagers trying to shoot at Kira. It had no effect whatsoever, as Kira merely turned, waving them away with no care at all, and he jumped slightly above the villagers, slicing clean through the trucks, which came crashing down and caused the people to scatter as Kira stood atop one of them.

"Who you think I am, anyway?!" Kira snapped, "Don't you dare treat me like some Centipede Monster!"

Ryuzaki considered what he had learned from what he had just seen of Kira's abilities for a moment before trying to run. He was a quick-moving opponent, but he relied heavily on jumping and having the high ground. That could simply be taking advantage of this particular terrain, but he knew what he would be dealing with if he ran deeper into the forest.

He vaguely noticed Near pull some sort of beads out of his robes, and he tried to stay just between the trees so it would be a delay for Kira to bounce between them to reach him.

It was already noticeably harder to run, perhaps from blood loss since if his shirt told him anything, he had lost a lot of it, and while whatever Near had done closed it, it would reopen again with ease if he wasn't careful.

He turned a little bit and noticed that, sure enough, he was correct in how Kira would catch up to him. He supposed it was more practical because it was better conservation of more energy than running directly at him.

He heard the sound of Kira diving down from one of the trees, ducking and rolling a bit, yelping as the Jewel fell out of his hand and rolled a short distance away. He turned a bit, eyes wide and a strangled sound escaping his throat when he realized there were three deep rifts in the ground mere inches from where he had been. It seemed he had timed that just right.

However, Kira wasn't focused on him anymore, holding the Jewel now, laughing, "Thanks for the Jewel, Ryuzaki."

"Sorry," they both turned and saw Near, who was smirking, "But I am really not sorry." The beads in his hand erupted in blue lights, and each bead flew from Near's hand into a rosary around Kira's neck, resting on his robes.

Kira clawed at the rosary with his free hand, "What's this?!"

Near ran over to Ryuzaki, "Recite the Word to hold Kira's spirit!"

"Huh? What?"

Kira rolled his eyes, "Subjugate me, will you?! Fool! With this Jewel, you won't be able to stop me. Not even L would succeed this time." He looked seconds away from using the Jewel, and Ryuzaki just shouted the first thing that popped into his mind, deciding to ignore the familiar feeling of saying it like he knew what to do,

"Osuwari!"

Blue light emitted from the rosary, and suddenly Kira fell onto his side on the ground, the Jewel falling out of his hand. It didn't seem to hurt him, just piss him off as he sat up and tried to tug off the beads, cursing loudly and damning this L person to hell. Ryuzaki found that somewhat odd for a half-demon to do before remembering the Japanese and English concepts of demons were very different. Kira was more like the Fae in fantasy stories, which did line up with his mostly human appearance—besides the pointed ears and impossibly red hair and eyes.

Near smirked, "It's useless, Kira. Your powers cannot remove the rosary."

Kira lunged at him, "Shut up, bastard! You're first in line!"

"Osuwari!" Ryuzaki shouted, as a test to see if this would work again, and make sure Near didn't get maimed. Once again, Kira fell on his side in clear irritation but no actual harm.

That made him feel better about this power he now had, which could quickly be abused in the wrong hands and become a cruel punishment source. He decided he would only use that as a last resort, even if it was just a minor stunning and annoyance.

Near took the moment of Kira being stunned to throw powder in his face, which caused Kira to cough for a moment before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fell limp.

Ryuzaki walked over, "Is he dead? Or enchanted like before?"

"No," Near grumbled, "I wish he was, but alas, all I can do is knock him out. He should be awake by dawn at the latest." He looked out at the sky, "Which should be in about three hours." He gestured for some villagers to tie Kira up, "Now, then… Let's return to the village so you can be properly treated. You reopened your wound a bit."

Ryuzaki looked down and noticed that there was once again light bleeding from his wound, and he only realized then how dizzy he was.

Near snapped his fingers, and someone came to his side, helping Ryuzaki lay down on a stretcher. Normally, he would protest, but right now, he just wanted to go to sleep and hope he would wake up back at home. 

Maybe this was all a weird dream from anesthesia, and he had a tumor or something causing the pains in his abdomen, so he was dreaming after or during surgery. That would make sense. 

He wasn't actually in the past with a hot demon having tried to kill him. That was just ridiculous... right?

OoOoO

It wasn't a dream, Ryuzaki confirmed with no room for doubt this time when he woke up to bright sunlight, and Near was tending to his wounds and applying some odd green stuff to his torso.

Wait... where did his shirt go?

He turned his head a bit, seeing that the village was in ruins after the attack last night, and already the people were working to rebuild.

He grimaced a bit at the stinging from his abdomen, having always hated hospitals, but he would give almost anything for some morphine right now because he felt like his insides had been pulverized.

"Do you have any Advil?" He found himself asking with a fool's hope, even though he knew the chances of Near having any were slim to none.

Near cocked his head, "Is that a medicine from where you're from?"

"Yeah, it helps with pain."

"I have some tea with herbs, but you're going to have to either learn to fight or get used to this." Near said boredly, "Now that the Sacred Jewel has reappeared, there will be others who seek to possess it. Not just demons, but also humans, who have evil in their hearts. With all the world's violence, it follows there will be those who seek the Jewel's power to realize their greedy ambitions."

Ryuzaki tensed. Just the idea of a repeat of yesterday made him feel somewhat sick. But then that brought back memories, and he forced himself to sit up slightly against the wall, and he realized Kira was also in the room, laying lazily on his side a few steps away from Near and Ryuzaki, with his back facing them. "Why are you here?" He couldn't help but ask, and Kira turned his head slightly,

"Give me the Jewel." And then he turned away again, clearly just as unhappy with this arrangement as Ryuzaki was.

Near chuckled, and Ryuzaki couldn't help but wonder why the Priest was getting such a huge kick out of this. Did he and Kira know each other? "It seems the holding power of the rosary is quite effective. Even if he gets near the Sacred Jewel, we do not have to worry."

"Why do you want the Sacred Jewel?" Ryuzaki asked, taking some sort of tea from Near, noticing the Jewel next to his pillow, "You're awfully strong right now. You don't really need its power, do you?"

"He is only a Hanyou," Near was the one to reply, and Kira spun to face him, seething, 

"Who do you think you are, anyway?! Don't talk as if you know all about me!"

Near rolled his eyes, "I guess it can't be helped. I thought you would have realized who I am by now."

Kira's eyes widened. "Near?" He looked Near up and down, "Either it hasn't been too long at all, or L wasn't kidding about you having longevity."

"It's been fifty years," Near replied, and Ryuzaki found himself shocked. Had Kira not aged due to the spell binding him to the tree? Did he not age at all if he was half-demon?

Kira stood up, "L must be really old now, too. Humans age so easily. That's the way it goes."

Near stood up with a smile which frightened Ryuzaki slightly as he managed to stand a bit too on shaky legs, and was offered a kimono of white and blue.

"Would you like to see him?" Near asked, grabbing Kira's hand and dragging him, and Ryuzaki grabbed a walking stick, following them. He had been under the impression from the way Near had been previously talking about L that he was dead, so if he was actually alive—

Oh. Near had just been making a point.

When they stopped at their destination, it was at a small shrine, and the words written into the stone had the letter "L" written in a gothic font almost.

Kira seemed frozen, too stunned to move. Near glared,

"My brother _died_ to use that enchanted arrow on you and fulfill his duty as the protector of the Shikon Jewel." Near hummed a bit, "Didn't you say you would help purify the Jewel and become human so you both can live happily ever after?"

"Things change," Kira made an odd sound between a laugh and a sob, "So that's how it went, and now L's dead." He then threw his head back and sighed as though a massive burden was off his shoulders, "What a relief!"

Near crossed his arms, "It's too early to breathe a sigh of relief." He finally acknowledged Ryzaki's presence, "Ryuzaki, you are the reincarnation of L. It's not just your appearance or psychic powers… But the fact that you carried the Jewel within yourself, that is irrefutable proof. It's your job to protect the Sacred Jewel."

Kira's eye twitched, and he stormed off down another path, as though just the sight of Ryuzaki made him sick.

Ryuzaki looked to Near, "I don't particularly want to protect the Jewel. Can't I take it home? There aren't any demons there."

"As I already said, demons aren't the only thing for you to worry about. Where could you even go where demons can't find you? If you have never seen one, they are in hiding."

That thought was extremely unsettling, and he handed the Jewel to Near, "Listen, I don't know or care what is going on. Why can't you take care of the thing? You are plenty capable."

"But I don't have the powers you, or more accurately, L, have. Besides, the Shikon Jewel is what brought you here, so it stands to reason you can't leave without it. It was safely hidden inside you, but now that it's out in the open, you will be hunted."

Ryuzaki groaned, "I am going to hear a lot of people calling me L, aren't I?"

"Most likely."

He limped away in a huff, looking down at the Jewel in his hand. _This is ridiculous. Either way, I have to get home, and Watari will know what to do about this. And get me some damn Advil._

As he walked along the path, he felt walking begin to get easier until he didn't need the stick anymore. The Jewel was now on a chain like a necklace, which he put around his neck. If it worked for healing purposes or at least a painkiller, he supposed it wasn't the worst thing ever.

What was insufferable, however, was the talk from the villagers that he could hear.

"When you think about it, he does seem quite saintly…"

"The kid's the reincarnation of High Priest L!"

"Watch your language! Show some respect for the young man!"

"L-sama's come back just as he left us!"

Ryuzaki turned and realized all the villagers were clasping their hands in prayer directed at him. He decided to hurry along, away from these people calling him L and making him almost feel less than a person.

_I really have to get out of here._

OoOoO

Light sat on a tree branch, gazing at the mountains far away, trying to figure out how all of this made any sense, but no matter how hard he tried to think, it didn't.

L was dead.

That part wasn't what bothered him since he had always known it would happen, but the factor of how was what brought him deep discomfort.

He remembered what L had said apparently fifty years ago, about that if it came down to it, he could give his life and use an enchanted arrow like that. However, for that to happen, he had to be close to death already, like being mortally wounded or ill.

L had been the picture of health if you didn't count the dark bags under his eyes, and Light hadn't been able to sense any illness on him. That meant L must have been gravely injured. But _how?!_

He replayed his final moments before succumbing to that spell. L had shot him from a distance, and by the time he had been walking closer, Light was already losing his senses. So he hadn't been able to smell any blood.

Regardless, how could L have possibly been injured? They had been in the forest, away from the damage to the village, and if he was injured enough to have given his life, he wouldn't be able to get there that fast. But Light knew full well that he hadn't been the one to harm L since he hadn't even touched the bastard or been close enough to have even done so accidentally.

Even if L had just been using him for his own gain and pretended to be in love with him, he hadn't wanted to hurt, much less kill L. The plan had been to just take the Jewel and become a full-demon like he had initially intended before L had sweet-talked him.

Why did this even bother him so much? L didn't love him, and Light had made it clear he was through with their relationship. L being dead was a relief because now he could take the Jewel with greater ease with only Near to be much of a threat.

He absently looked down at the rosary forced around his neck. Well, that _thing_ Near called L's reincarnation could prove to be annoying. What was the boy's name? Ryuzaki?

He growled just thinking about the name.

_"I've always wondered why my parents named me L," L laughed a bit as they sat together, "Either they hated me, or they're lazy. At least Near got a real name, and the alias is a choice to avoid bounty hunters."_

_Light leaned a bit in, "So, what would you name yourself then, if you could pick?"_

_L shrugged, "I don't mind the name L, but I guess if I had to pick a normal name... what about Ryuzaki?"_

_"Ryuzaki? I like it." He tensed a bit in surprise as L leaned his head on Light's shoulder,_

_"Well, is Kira really your name? Or is it your picked name?"_

_Light grumbled, "Kira's the name I was given as a demon."_

_"But what about being human?"_

_"It's..." could he really trust L with something so personal, the name his mother had given him. She was the only one who knew that name, so could he trust it to L? He smiled, "It's Light."_

_"Light?" L looked up at him, "No offense, but I think Light suits you better than Kira."_

_He felt the hot blush creep up his face, and he looked towards the sunset, "Yeah, well, don't get used to it. Kira's the name people take me seriously with, and you can't tell anyone I've got a human name too."_

_"Don't worry," a quick peck on the lips, "Your secret is safe with me, Light-Kun."_

He shook himself out of the memory when he realized his eyes were beginning to sting, and the last thing he wanted to do was actually shed tears over a memory that was, in hindsight, a complete lie. To think he actually trusted L with his human name. A mistake he would never make again with anyone.

He decided the matter of L's death only bothered him because it made no sense. That was all. He didn't actually care about L at all.

He felt the change in the wind and caught the pear which had been thrown at him, and he examined it, and then looked down, groaning when he saw Ryuzaki looking up at him with a basket of fruit at his feet,

"You've been up there for a while. I can share these with you."

"What's with all the food, anyway?"

"It's the villagers' offerings. I'll share if you come down."

He went to protest, but his stomach had other plans, and he realized for the first time that he hadn't eaten in fifty years. He landed gracefully on the ground and reached for an apple, eyeing it suspiciously, while Ryuzaki ate some strawberries.

"What are you up to?" Light asked before he even considered eating the apple, and Ryuzaki turned to him,

"I'm not up to anything except for thinking about how I can get home." He stopped eating for a moment, "You really hate me, don't you." 

"You've no idea how much." That face... it was so much like L's but paler, and L's brilliant blue hair and eyes were replaced with black. Ryuzaki certainly looked like L, but at the same time, everything that made L himself was lost, except for those bags under his eyes.

Ryuzaki narrowed his eyes, "Look… The one you hate is not me. It's L—and I don't care what Near and the villagers are saying. He and I are not the same people, and I don't want to take care of this Jewel."

"How about you just give me the damn thing then, if you hate it so much," Light offered eagerly, "Then it will be out of your hair."

"Given how you were ready to kill me for this, I don't feel inclined to give it to you." He examined the Jewel absently, "How about I make a compromise with you. Help me get home, and we can hit the books about this Jewel, and see if there is something we can do, and I can weigh the pros and cons of taking care of it versus giving it to you."

Alright... maybe this Ryuzaki person wasn't a copy of L. L had resented his job of protecting the Jewel. However, he still held that responsibility and did everything he could, and had always pointed out at least it wasn't boring. Ryuzaki was contemplating actually giving it to him if the circumstances were right?

It could be a bluff to get what he wanted—he was L's reincarnation, after all, so he couldn't trust the young man, no matter how much he was beginning to wonder if Ryuzaki was his own person.

But what did he have to lose? For now, it seemed like a safe bet, or perhaps these books would give him another way to get rid of his human half. 

And if it turned out to be a bluff or Ryuzaki decided to protect the Jewel, as long as he acted fast and was careful about the "Osuwari" command, it shouldn't be hard at all to take it from him.

"Well then, Ryuzaki," he shook Ryuzaki's hand, "You have a deal."


	5. An Accident With Longterm Consequences

"So if we're going to do this," Kira pondered as they walked up the grassy hill towards the forest they both came from, "We first have to figure out how you got here. Any ideas?"

"Does an acid trip count?" Ryuzaki asked sarcastically, and Kira blicked, and he realized the Hanyou had no idea what he meant, "Just forget it. It was a joke from where I'm from. All I know is that I climbed out of the dry well."

"That's as good of a clue as any." Kira looked down at the well as they reached it, "So you just climbed up it." He hopped down, looking around, "Yeah, I can sense something is off, but," he dug into the ground, experimentally, and then picked up the severed arm still down there, examining it, "I can't find anything except this arm. Maybe it has something to do with the Jewel?"

Ryuzaki went to go down there himself and take a look, but he yelped as he felt hands grab him, "Ki _—_ " he struggled as a hand covered his mouth and another reached for the Jewel around his neck. It was extremely difficult to move in these robes, but he managed to kick himself free, stumbling a bit on the edge of the well, "We have company!"

Kira bounded up the well in one jump, balancing on the thin wood as he took in the seven attackers, and he used his claws to block a sword, breaking it in two.

"Protect the Jewel!" Kira ordered, "And this is why I always complained about L wearing those damn robes. They look nice but are highly impractical if you don't have a bow and arrow on you." His eyes then widened, "Demon in the leader!" He lunged, punching who Ryuzaki assumed was the leader several times, and Ryuzaki staggered back as his senses were suddenly assaulted by a putrid stench.

He fell to the ground as the other mercenaries fled and knocked past him, and Ryuzaki assumed that smell meant there was some sort of demon, just as Kira said.

One of the buckles on the boss' clothes had come off, revealing a hole in his chest. Three eyes peered out of the hole and caws. A massive crow with three eyes revealed itself, and Ryuzaki fought the urge to gag, but Kira seemed largely unbothered,

"His heart must've been torn apart a couple of nights ago. Then it nested there. Corpse Crows aren't too strong. They use dead bodies to fight." He plunged his hand into where the crow was. It escaped, and Kira groaned, removing his hand and wiping it off using a tree as the flesh the crow had been using disintegrated at the same time.

Ryuzaki watched the crow fly away, "It got away! Aren't you going after it?"

"I can't go after every stupid demon." Kira replied, his hands behind his head, "There's only one of me, after all. Of course, if you gave me the Jewel, I can go after all the demons you could want me to. Unless you do that, I'm done fighting. Let's get you home. Is the Jewel safe?"

Ryuzaki went to grab it but quickly began panicking as he realized the chain he had been carrying it around his neck with had broken, and he looked around, spotting the Jewel in the grass, just in time for the crow to pick it up in its beak and fly away.

Kira screamed in rage, "You had one job!" He grabbed a discarded quiver of arrows and grabbed Ryuzaki, throwing him on his back in a piggyback ride.

As they ran, Ryuzaki fumbled with the bow and an arrow, "You want me to shoot that thing down?! I've never used a bow and arrow in my life!"

"The Corpse Crow survives by eating human flesh!" Kira shouted through the wind as he sprinted, keeping Ryuzaki stable, "With the Sacred Jewel, it might transform!" 

Ryuzaki looked up and saw the crow swallow the Jewel, and he psyched himself up, "I'll try it!"

"All right! Make it one shot! L was a master archer!" He leaped a good thirty feet in the air, and Ryuzaki looked at the arrow, praying,

_I'm not L...But if it's okay, L, please lend me your power…_

He fired the arrow, but it missed by a considerable margin, and Kira fell to the ground, seeming completely shocked as they came to a stop.

Ryuzaki bit his thumb, "Erm… You're not lying about L being a master archer, are you?"

Kira had an expression of complete exasperation, his arms flying around wildly, "How are you this much of a klutz?!" He looked up as the crow transformed, "Look, now it's gettin' bigger!" He picked up Ryuzaki again, "Can you at least try to aim?"

The next arrow missed the crow even more pathetically than the last one, and Kira straight-up dropped Ryuzaki, making him stumble and cry out in sudden pain from coming to a sudden stop after being at high speed.

"What was that for?!"

Kira glared at him, "No way you're L reincarnated. You'd at least have some competence or brains!" 

"I just got here, prick!" Ryuzaki practically shrieked as he stood up, "I haven't held a bow and arrow or even seen a demon before two days ago! Whether I am another version of this L person, that doesn't mean I can defy basic logic and be amazing at something I have never done before!" He tested putting weight on his sore ankle and figured it was twisted, but he could still walk.

He was used to pains like this and took off towards the village, where he realized the Corpse Crow was going, and he got there just in time to see the beast swipe a toddler and fly off. He glowered and saw Kira follow him out of the trees, clawing at the crow and tearing it to pieces, where its remains fell into the river with the toddler who clearly didn't know how to swim.

Kira looked around, "Where is it? Where's the Sacred Jewel!"

Impractical clothes be damned, Ryuzaki ignored Kira completely and dove into the river after the child. _I'm glad I went to swimming classes._

"How is he doin' that?!" He heard one of the villagers shout.

"He must be a kappa! A water-imp! First time I saw one up-close!"

He saw the child flailing a short distance away, and Ryuzaki kicked off the shoes he had been given so he could travel faster, grateful for the season permitting the water to be decently warm. He grabbed the child and flipped over on his back, supporting the kid on his stomach as he swam, "Just relax, okay?"

As he got out of the water, he shivered as he helped the child back to his mother, and he then noticed everyone staring at him in amazement, especially Kira, who was for the first time looking at him as though he was worth something.

Ryuzaki tried to be polite as he was given countless thanks by the villagers, already knowing he would be worshipped further for this, and just the thought made him cringe.

He then noticed the Corpse Crow's claw was attached to the child's back, and he reached to remove it when it suddenly started trying to pull the kid back towards the water. Ryuzaki snatched it up as he watched the rest of the pieces fly out from underwater, joined together.

He got an idea, turning to one of the villagers, "May I use your bow and arrow?"

"Huh? But it's so far away…"

Ryuzaki used the string of his kimono to tie the crow's claw to the arrow. If it was trying to join the body, attracted by the power of the Sacred Jewel, that meant it would ensure he hit his target.

He fired, and this time the arrow took on a vibrant blue glow as it flew up with the Crow's foot, hitting dead-center, shattering it into pieces. But what surprised him was the explosion of pink and a pulse of power, and the pink light began dispersing in countless directions.

Near came over, looking up at the sky worriedly, "I have a bad feeling about this... Ryuzaki, look for the Jewel with Kira, and knock him over if he tries to take it."

Kira was already heading out, and Ryuzaki winced a bit at his ankle but hurried after him.

OoOoO

It was late evening, and they still hadn't found any sign of the Jewel in the surrounding area; and Kira was growing frustrated,

"Are you sure it's around here?"

Ryuzaki pushed past a bush, "Yeah… I can't really describe it, but I can sense it… But I wonder what that light was?"

After a few more minutes, Ryuzaki could swear he stopped breathing for a moment from fright as the disembodied head of the Corpse Crow came rocketing at him. Kira rushed in front of him and clawed at the head, and a glowing fragment fell from the head as it disintegrated.

Ryuzaki bent down, "Could this be…?"

Kira eyed him suspiciously, "Could this be what?" Ryuzaki laughed nervously as he confirmed his suspicions,

"Do you want the good news or the bad news?"

"Just give it to me straight."

Ryuzaki nervously turned to face him, holding up his findings, "A... fragment of the Sacred Jewel…?"

For a long moment, Kira was silent, a look of complete horror on his face as he stared between Ryuzaki and the Jewel shard. Then he opened his mouth.

Ryuzaki had never heard so much vulgarity in his life.


	6. Down the Rabbit Hole and Back Again

After finding the shard of the now shattered Sacred Jewel, the two rushed back to Near. Or, rather, Ryuzaki dragged a still swearing Kira to Near, who thankfully wasn't going to put up with the Hanyou's nonsense,

"Stop barking, Kira," Near grumbled, examining the shard, and Kira threw his hand out, gesturing at the Jewel, and some childish part of Ryuzaki wondered how long it would be until steam was coming out of Kira's ears like in cartoons.

"Leave it to him to wind up breaking it!" Kira snapped. Near shook his head,

"Technically, it wasn't Ryuzaki. It was the Corpse Crow's foot attached to the arrow. But as you saw, fragments of the Sacred Jewel have been scattered throughout the world. Who knows whether there were one hundred fragments or a thousand. Should even one fragment fall into evil hands, however, the destruction will be incalculable."

"I'm sorry," Ryuzaki whispered, "I feel sort of responsible…"

Near grimaced, "You couldn't have known. But... as much as it pains me to say it, you and Kira will have to work together to gather the fragments and restore the Sacred Jewel."

"Heh?" Ryuzaki's eyes widened, and his gaze wandered to Kira, who shockingly didn't seem overly bothered,

"You won't catch me complaining. I'm one of the 'wrong hands' you were talking about, and you made an agreement with me, Ryuzaki. I'd help you get home, and you'd give me the Jewel."

"I said I would think about it!"

"You did what?!" Near smacked his forehead, "I would have thought you would have learned from my brother's mistake about even considering giving him the Shikon Jewel!"

Kira glowered, "For the last time, I didn't kill him. Your dear brother is the one who betrayed and tried to kill me!" Near was stunned into silence, and Ryuzaki backed up a bit, thinking about how he had first seen Kira comatose on that tree. That must be what Kira was referring to, and he had a grudge.

Near took a long sip of what Ryuzaki suddenly doubted was tea, "Regardless, your partnership with Ryuzaki, unfortunately, can't be helped."

_But… I have to go home!_

OoOoO

"You've gotta be kidding!" Ryuzaki grimaced as he waded in the pond, which seemed to be the only body of water the villagers were comfortable with, "Even if it is Feudal Japan… There are no hot baths?!" He shivered, seeing goosebumps already forming on his skin, "C-C-Co…Cold!"

Near was sitting at a fire, his long white hair tied in a ponytail, "Ryuzaki, don't force it. Come on out before you make yourself ill."

"No! I'm covered in blood and dirt, and who knows what that will attract out here," he took a breath to convince himself this was a good idea before calling back, "Are there any underwater horrors I should know about?"

"In the river closer to the village, various creatures have taken up residence there since L's passing, but with your arrival, they seem to have scampered off."

Ryuzaki huffed and submerged himself fully underwater in hopes of adjusting faster, swimming and grateful for having taught himself to hold his breath for a long time, so he could avoid the dangers above, even if just for a little bit.

It was nice to just relax for a bit, making sure the blood and dirt had been cleaned off him. He knew that being in this pond water wasn't the cleanest, but it was the best he had.

As he emerged out of the water, ready to walk towards Near and get dressed in new robes, he looked up. Kira was sitting on the ledge of the cliff, staring at Ryuzaki innocently, blinking his eyes. Ryuzaki yelped with shock and sat down in the water with his legs crossed, pretty sure his face was as red as Kira's hair.

Near looked up tiredly, "So you are here, Kira."

Ryuzaki hurriedly put on the new robes behind a bush, "What are you even doing here?"

"He was just trying to steal the shard," Near held up the fragment. "Yes, I know."

Kira jumped down towards Near, "You think you're pretty smart, you damn sheep."

"I am smart enough to know that you have to join forces with Ryuzaki, who can sense the Jewel. You're the one with the strength to actually take the shards once they have been found. Without the two of you working together, there is no way all of the fragments will be found."

"And I'm telling you that if it's for the sake of the Sacred Jewel, I'll put up with him, so stop worrying."

Ryuzaki came over, "I would have thought you could at least give me a chance once you got it through your head that I'm not L. Do you really dislike me that much?"

...

He looked exactly like L.

Light was barely able to focus at all as he took in those robes. It was one thing to have him wearing Near's robes, which had small differences, but this was the same stitching, and blue shades as L would always wear. His wet hair made it difficult to tell if his hair was blue or black, and while Kira did know Ryuzaki's was the latter, the person before him could very well have been L.

That look of anger on Ryuzaki's face faded. Only then did Light realize his expressions had probably given away the memories that flashed behind his eyes, having seen such a similar look on L's face the last time they had seen each other.

Neither of them spoke, as a woman from the village called to Near. "Priest Near, I need your help with my daughter." Near got up,

"I see. I will be right there." He looked back to Light and Ryuzaki, "I must return to the village. Do not fight—or if you do fight, Ryuzaki, win. I would love to see Kira get his ass handed to him."

Light groaned and looked at Ryuzaki, "Get undressed." When Ryuzaki's face turned red again, and his eyes widened as though he was a moment away from using the Osuwari command, he clarified, "I didn't mean get naked! I meant to put your own weird stuff back on! Like the stuff you were wearing when you got here!"

"You mean the shirt and jeans that were torn up to the point of uselessness? Why would you care anyway?" He paused as though it clicked, "Because this makes me look like L?"

Light looked away indignantly, "Whatever. Either way, we had a deal, but I am perfectly happy to go it alone and not have to look at you. At least pick out some new robes."

"You don't need me along then?" Ryuzaki walked away without another word, and Light cocked his head a bit,

"Where you going?"

"I'm going home. Goodbye, Kira." He began walking away, and Light got up, chasing after him,

"Going home…? Hey!"

Ryuzaki narrowed his eyes, "My name is Ryuzaki. Please address me as such."

Light got an idea and casually strolled up to Ryuzaki, "I can tell it's useless to stop you."

"Correct."

"So could you give me the Jewel piece? You might as well leave it behind so you don't endanger your family."

Ryuzaki absently looked at the pouch he now had around his neck, as though in thought, and Light was extremely excited for all of three seconds before Ryuzaki gave him a smarmy smirk. "When I get home, Watari and I have enough weaponry and supplies that I am sure I can take care of this better than L." He then walked away with much more confidence, leaving Light shocked by the sudden change in attitude.

And for the first time, Light looked at Ryuzaki. Really looked at him. His gait implied there was something wrong with his feet, and he was moments away from tipping over, and yet he was still remaining balanced. He wasn't as hunched as L was, and there was a subtle swaying of his hips as he moved.

From the fact he couldn't use a bow and arrow to save his life without basically cheating, to the changes in behavior, to the way he acted in response to demons, Light figured there was probably enough evidence that Ryuzaki was not L. But if they had the same soul, how could that be? Was this the issue of nature versus nurture that he had heard about? If so, then this was just L but having been in a different environment. He had to investigate more to figure out if they were actually different or if Ryuzaki would end up turning around and betraying him too.

_"Die, Kira!"_

Some of L's final words to him rang through his head, and Light tore at his hair. It just didn't make sense. L had never been like that before...

_L had used his spiritual powers to protect the Sacred Shikon Jewel from demons, locking away and vanquishing any that came near his village._

_Light, too, needed the Jewel so he could become a full-fledged demon like his father and half-sister and finally be taken seriously in the demon world and not stuck between two worlds that didn't know what to do with him. His father had told him on one of the occasions they met that he shouldn't be ashamed of what he was, but his father wasn't exactly around anymore to remind him of that, now was he?_

_On one of these many attempts to steal the Jewel, he once again found himself pinned to the tree, arrows snagged into his clothing, but none actually touching his flesh. Only this time, L was standing before him, not firing from a distance like normal. The times before this, Light had chalked up not meeting the same fate as any other demon up to luck or L missing, but this time L was mere meters away from him and could finish him off easily. No... this was intentional._

_L stood there for a moment before lowering his bow and putting away his arrows, walking away with no care at all._

_"Will you stop it?!" Light demanded, "Why do you never finish me off?"_

_L turned back to him, vibrant blue eyes twinkling with amusement even as his face remained impassive, "Stop coming after the Jewel. I have no wish to waste more arrows."_

_"And yet you waste way more sparing my life instead of finishing me off," maybe he was in a bad place mentally and somewhat craved death, but even he knew he was taking a risk seeing what was making L tick._

_But L just walked away without a word, and Light realized they had something in common. He had no intention of killing L, and it became clear L did not intend to kill him either._

At least, that was what he had thought for the years he had known the young Priest. Why had that suddenly changed that day fifty years ago?

He shook himself. It didn't matter. L was dead and cremated, and even if his lookalike was very much alive, he was abandoning his duties as a Priest and going to wherever his home was. There was no need to think about anything concerning either of them anymore.

...

Ryuzaki sighed with relief as he hurried up the hill and into the forest, ready to get back home and Watari would know what to do with this Jewel. After all, he had a ton of money back home and enough weaponry to make James Bond cry with envy, so it made perfect sense that even if there were demons in his time, he would be able to handle it.

He spotting the dry well and hurried over to it, looking down as for the first time he noticed there were bones down there, which hadn't been there before. But then he remembered what Near said.

_"That dry well is nicknamed the Bone-Devouring Well. It is where the corpses of the dead demons are discarded. After several days, the corpses disappear."_

Ryuzaki tensed, almost afraid to go in now. But he shook that away because Kira had gone down there and been just fine, so it was irrational to be so concerned.

He went to hop in, but something caught his eye. He turned, just in time to see a falling leaf get sliced cleanly in two for seemingly no reason. But as Ryuzaki examined his surroundings, he realized that he was surrounded by what seemed to be hair. He winced as he suddenly felt some of it cut his cheek as he turned directly into it. Was this hair, or was it tiny hair-like blades? He absently swiped at the blood droplets welling up, and he noticed a woman standing on the hair, seeming surprised,

"You can see it?" She looked at him pensively, and Ryuzaki examined her very revealing tiny dress, trying to figure out if she was wearing underwear. The cut sides of her tiny thing implied that she was not, and that seemed extremely inefficient. He was aware that many men would lose their minds to see a woman in so little clothing, but Ryuzaki was just questioning why this was the outfit of choice for someone who he supposed was trying to steal the Jewel. And for some reason, he couldn't help but wonder how Kira would react to this.

"Yeah, I can see your hair. But my priority is mostly why you aren't wearing pants. You're pretty, don't get me wrong, but is that really necessary?"

She giggled a bit, "You're an odd one, that's for sure." She pushed back some of her own fluffy brunette hair, and Ryuzaki noticed she had the blade-hair tied around her fingertips like puppet strings. It wasn't actually coming from her head. "Anyway, I would assume you know why I'm here."

"Jewel?" He scoffed, "I hate to break it to you, but the thing's busted. Who are you anyway?" Clearly, talking to her was working well enough, and if he got her talking, he might be able to escape without being maimed.

"They call me Yuri," she explained, "Though you don't have to bother remembering it." She stretched out her hand, and several strands of the hair lashed at him like tiny whips, which tore at his robes, and another one hit his face, and one across his hand. "I'm helping myself to the Jewel!"

Ryuzaki jumped into the well. _Not today, Satan!_ If a demon was here, that meant staying would put the village in danger. If he lured her away, that was fine because surely a sniper rifle would get the job done with her, but he much preferred she'd lose interest and move along. 

He didn't know what happened next, as he didn't feel the impact of the fall. Perhaps he lost consciousness or maybe transcended time. He hoped it was the latter, but his body was tired, that by the time he forced himself to get up, there was darkness above.

"We've looked in this well over and over again." Ryuzaki perked up to hear Watari's voice, and then Linda's,

"But I already told you, it's where he fell in!"

Ryuzaki stood up, relief making his knees weak, so he had to sit down again, "Watari! Linda!" He shouted, "I'm down here!"

Watari looked down with a flashlight, "Ryuzaki!" He hurried out and grabbed a ladder, throwing it down and rushing to Ryuzaki's side, pulling him into an embrace, "Oh, thank goodness you're safe. Can you walk?"

Ryuzaki felt all of his exhaustion come back to him, having not slept peacefully since that adventure began, and while he was used to lack of sleep, fighting for his life was something else entirely. He just shook his head a bit, letting Watari carry him in a piggyback ride as he climbed out of the well, bringing him into his bedroom and onto the bed.

Linda threw herself at him, "You're alive!" She then frowned, "What are you wearing? What happened to you?!"

Ryuzaki let himself go completely limp on the bed, "I'm not dreaming. I'm really home."

Watari sat down with him, "Talk to me, my boy. What happened to you?"

Ryuzaki felt his vision blur with tears, and he dove into Watari's arms, trying to stifle a sob, "I was so scared..." he buried his face in Watari's chest, melting in his father figure's embrace.

Watari didn't say anything further, knowing Ryuzaki needed some time to process what had happened, so he gestured for Linda to fetch some cake for the sake of comfort food.

He held onto Watari a little tighter, trying to convince himself that this was real. Watari would help him figure out what to do, and he would never go near that well again. Kira didn't need him, and that was just fine. Ryuzaki was perfectly happy to go back to his normal life of solving cases from afar. As soon as he got himself together, he was headed back to Wammy's House and never returning to anywhere close to this shrine.

Yeah... that sounded nice. He could just go back to being Ryuzaki Lawliet, not the reincarnation of L or some sort of Priest.

He was home.

OoOoO

Light hid in the forest with a bleeding Near next to him, clutching his shoulder and trying to stop the bleeding. How had things gone to hell so fast? He had been trying to find Ryuzaki and swipe that Jewel shard, and the next thing he knew, he was being attacked by strings he couldn't see, and the villagers being controlled like puppets.

"Did I hear you say you were able to see the hair?" He snapped, sitting by Near's side, while L's stubborn brother refused to meet his eyes.

Near nodded, groaning a bit in agony, "Yeah. But that—" he coughed a bit, and Light turned him over and saw there was thankfully no blood being hacked up. Near glared, "Can you not? If I die here and the last thing I see is _you,_ I am going to be pissed off."

"You really hate me so much for something I didn't do."

"You can't deny you destroyed a lot of the village and killed many people before you were pinned to the tree, even if you claim you didn't kill L. Besides, I never liked you anyway and always thought L should have finished you off a long time ago. But alas, he always said that wasn't how we do things." He rolled his eyes, turning away, "Regardless, I'll be of no help to you even if I didn't despise you. Find Ryuzaki. He should be able to help you."

Light groaned, "Of course Ryuzaki can see it too. And let me guess, I'm going to need that power if I want to actually win against this. I've been cutting the damn hair just fine on my own—I don't need him."

"Your funeral," Near retorted, and his body trembled as he lost more blood. Light tore into the bottom of Near's robes and used it as a bandage of the sort.

"There, is that better?" Light frowned when he realized Near had stopped moving. "Near?" He shook him, only to get no response, "Nate?" Even the man's real name didn't stir him. There was shallow breathing, but Light suspected that wouldn't last long, and for once, he was truly glad L was dead because if L hadn't tried to kill him before, he would if he found out Light might have just let his little brother die.

He moved over and decided he might as well bury him and buy himself some time until Near actually died. He bent down and started digging, mumbling to himself, "Well, all things considered, it's the least I can do for you."

He gently set Near in the shallow pit and went about covering him up when Near woke up with narrow eyes, "You didn't even check for a pulse. Can I even be unconscious in peace? This is why we can't have nice things with you around. Did you even check for a pulse?"

"I didn't feel like it, and you're close enough to dead anyway."

"I am going to live, and it will be purely to spite you," Near replied, and Light turned away to hide the sigh of relief and the small chuckle of amusement that forced itself out. Once he was sure he could maintain apathy, he turned back,

"Then think of this as a hiding place. I'll even come back and dig you out if I don't forget." He grabbed some leaves and covered them on top of the soil.

"I know you're not going to forget," Near replied, his head the only thing still above ground, "But that doesn't mean anything because you could easily just ditch me here. Oh well, dying alone is better than dying with you."

Rolling his eyes, Light got up to go find Ryuzaki. _Curse him! Where did he run off to at a time like this?_

He bounded through the forest, seeing night had long since fallen, as he came across the well and recognized Ryuzaki's sandals he had been wearing, which were at the foot of the well. As Light looked down, he noticed nothing down there but the bones of that centipede monster.

 _He really did go home!_ He couldn't help but wonder how Ryuzaki had been able to do it. Did it have something to do with the Jewel, or would he be able to do it too?

There was nothing to lose in at least trying because he still needed that Jewel fragment anyway, and what better way to knock some sense into the idiot than to bypass all defenses he had in his homeland.

He jumped down into the well.


	7. Teamwork

Ryuzaki had to put his coffee down for fear of dropping it; his hands were shaking far too much after recounting the tale of what had happened. For good measure, Watari sealed the well shut by screwing a metal sheet to it.

Linda was bouncing out of her seat, "I told you, Watari! A ghost appeared from inside the well and kidnapped Ryuzaki!"

Watari hummed a bit in thought, "I read into it, and the legend of the shrine says something in the 'bone-devouring well' takes corpses and makes them disappear somewhere. If you had that Jewel inside you and are really a reincarnation of someone from that time, I suppose it makes sense you can travel."

Ryuzaki looked down at the pouch with the Jewel shard inside, "Yeah... but what if I'm not the only thing that can travel through time? Even if we get out of here, what if something follows me?" He wasn't a fool. He knew that eventually, Kira would try to find him to get the final shard.

"That won't happen, Ryuzaki," Watari assured him, "Even if it does, we are in modern times now. None of these demons can hurt anyone now, and we will be in England by tomorrow."

"Right..." he got up, "I'm already packed. I don't care if the flight's not for three hours, I have to get out of here."

"Of course, Ryuzaki." Watari got up, "Linda, let's go."

Linda pouted, but she agreed, and all three hurried out and to the car to the airport. But Ryuzaki froze before getting in the car, feeling something familiar that made him ease and panic simultaneously.

He turned around, and he realized Kira was behind him. His blood ran cold. How had Kira found him?! He had humored the idea of other things being able to... but it should have taken longer, right?!

It wasn't a surprise that Kira was pissed off, looking moments away from tearing him to shreds with his claws. "You…! Who said you can go home?!"

"You… Where'd you come from?" Ryuzaki asked far more pitifully than intended, only earning a scoff from Kira, who gestured to the hut that concealed the well,

"The well! Where else?"

"The well? But it's…!"

"Covered?" He grabbed Ryuzaki's arm in a painful grip, "Didn't work. Now come with me!" 

Ryuzaki fought back as much as he could, screaming and punching against Kira's grip to no avail, "Wait! I don't want to go!"

BANG!

Ryuzaki looked in horror at the bullet Watari had fired to save him...

A bullet that Kira had caught between his fingertips with no effort at all. 

He looked at it for a moment, wincing slightly from the heat coming off it, and he rested it in the palm of his hand curiously. Ryuzaki took that time to hurry back over to Watari.

Watari was shielding Ryuzaki, holding him close and looking at Kira with horror, "What are you?"

"Hanyou." Kira replied, examining the bullet, "What is this?"

"It's a bullet," Ryuzaki replied, "And you shouldn't have been able to catch that!"

Kira laughed, "Just proves you are hopeless without my protection." He then looked up at the night sky, and Ryuzaki instantly noticed a spike of fear in Kira as he examined the sky. Out of curiosity, Ryuzaki looked too, not finding anything out of the ordinary. Perhaps Kira was freaked out by the star not being visible due to light pollution.

But when he started looking at his hands as though he expected to see something and then moved to take off into the trees made Ryuzaki run after him, glad to catch him before he got too far, "Kira! What's wrong?"

Kira pulled himself away harshly, "Nothing! I just... smelled something... demons." Ryuzaki's brow furrowed, his detective senses kicking in, and he could tell without a doubt that Kira was lying.

But then he noticed a glistening strand of hair on Kira's sleeve and frowned at it, "A strand of hair?"

"Hair?" He looked and blinked, "I don't see—oh crap she followed me! This is why I came for you! You and Near can see the hair, but Near's kinda dead."

_ "What?!" _

"I said  _ kinda _ dead," Kira retorted, "I buried him in the woods for his safety just in case he does croak. Told me that if he was gonna die, he didn't want me to be the last thing he saw."

"Okay," Ryuzaki took a step back, "That's a serious problem, but Yuri followed you?!"

"You know her?"

"Yeah, she tried to take the Jewel before I jumped into the well to escape," he showed the pouch, "I still have it though. But she followed you?!" He ran towards the hut, and Watari and Linda followed him,

"Ryuzaki, what are you doing?!" Linda pleaded, "You can't go in there! What if the ghosts take you again!"

"I'm not letting some crazy demon into my time!" He noticed Kira lingering, staring at the sky and then his hands repeatedly, clearly becoming confused, "Don't you dare linger, Kira! You brought her here!"

"I was looking for you!" Ryuzaki stormed back over to him, grabbing his arm to drag him towards the hut, but then yelped in surprise when he felt something cut him. He looked at his hand, and there was a shallow cut across his palm, from where the hair on Kira's sleeve had cut him.

"Ryuzaki?" Watari examined his hand, and then Kira's robes, "How is this possible? What cut you?"

"Demon hair," Ryuzaki replied, dragging Kira over to the hut and turning to his adopted father and sister, "No matter what, don't come in here!" He slammed the door shut, gasping when he saw the metal sheet torn open with sheer force, probably by Kira, and now thick bundles of hair were snaking out of the well rapidly.

The bundles rushed at Ryuzaki, and he barely managed to dodge as the hair deflected off the door and towards Kira,

"Kira! In front of you!"

But it seemed Kira understood that even without warning, he managed to dodge it perfectly as it snaked after him and tried to wrap around him. Ryuzaki noticed that by subtle gestures, it was made clear Kira was able to hear the hair's movements, as soft and almost unnoticeable as the sound may be.

He turned and heard banging on the door as Watari pleaded with him, "Open up, Ryuzaki! Ryuzaki!"

Kira was fighting the hair while Ryuzaki had hidden in the corner, and he noticed that the hair, even when cut, would slither together, join up, and finally managed to grab Kira's wrist. He then noticed one strand of hair that was actually coming out of the well, running at it and jumping, using the heel of his shoes to snap it, letting his iron-toed shoes make the blow to not take damage.

He screamed as he began to fall back into the well, and looked up, seeing Kira had caught his hand, pulling him back up to safety. Ryuzaki gripped the Jewel shard.

"She's after the shard, and must have followed you to find me since I have it. Logically it would be best if I leave the Jewel here, but if you are right about possible demons in my time..." he got an idea, shouting outside, "I'm okay, Watari! Do you mind making me like a safe about the size of a locket?"

"Why?"

"I'll be back soon, okay?" He looked at Kira, "We have to go back!"

Kira chuckled a bit, hesitantly looking towards the door again, "That was a quick change of mind."

Ryuzaki looked down at the dark well, fighting back the shaking, "I don't really want to go... But Watari and even Linda will be in danger if I stay here." He noticed Kira taking off his robe, revealing a white tunic underneath, and he draped the red coat over Ryuzaki's shoulders, "Huh?"

The act of kindness didn't seem to be something Kira wanted to linger on, looking away from him, "This was woven with the fur of the Fire Rat. It's much stronger than ordinary armor."

"Th-Thank you."

Kira scoffed childishly, "Don't look too much into it. You just look like you may burst into flames if you see the sun."

"That's coming from the hanyou!" He then paused as he thought about something, "Hey, Kira, what kind of demon was your parent? Hanyou means you have one human and one demon parent, right?"

"Why does it matter?"

"You were just... able to find me. Nothing's come out of the well before in recorded history, and I get something controlled like that hair was able to directly follow you, but you were able to come after me in the flesh and leave the hut."

"I don't see why it matters really what kind of yokai my father was," Kira replied, "But my father was the Inu no Daiyōkai."

"Inu no Daiyōkai..." he tried to think back on the legends he had read, "Great Dog Demon, right?"

"Yeah."

"So you're an Inuyokai?" He couldn't remember everything about dog yokai he had read since he had only just started learning, but maybe he could find information to help them or utilize Kira's abilities now that he knew what kind of demon he was.

Out of curiosity, he decided to scratch behind Kira's ear, smirking when he got a positive reaction before being smacked away, "Don't touch me. Come on, we have a demon bitch to slay." He pulled Ryuzaki close and jumped down into the well, and found themselves back in the past.

As soon as they got out, Ryuzaki yelped, "Watch out! There's hair all over the well."

"Alright," Kira threw Ryuzaki over his shoulder and hopped to the top, perching on the edge as he looked around, "Where is the hair?"

Ryuzaki peered around, the moon in the sky, making it easier to see the darker strand, "I can see several glowing strands of hair there. But if our first little encounter taught us anything, there's the main strand that's been bewitching the others. That means if we follow the main strand, we'll find Yuri." He pointed in the direction he was sure they had to go, "That way. And can you not carry me like this?"

He was adjusted into a piggyback ride as Kira ran through the forest, bounding over ponds and hills until they reached a campfire site. Ryuzaki was startled but managed to quickly get over himself at the sight of the headless warriors scattered about.

Kira put him down, and Ryuaki examined the scene. This was pretty disgusting, but it wasn't the worst thing he had seen while investigating cases. Looking at the body, he looked up to Kira, "Does the hair wrap around necks?"

"Yeah, tried to take my head off, and if I was human, it would have succeeded." He then grumbled to himself, "If I was a full demon, the hair would have snapped even trying." He cocked his head a bit in Ryuzaki's direction, "What are you doing? You better not start whining about wanting to go home."

"Actually," Ryuzaki turned with a bit of sass in his tone, holding up the bow and quiver of arrows he had found, "I was going to take this." 

Kira crossed his arms, "The arrows you shoot probably won't hit their targets."

"But if I practice, maybe I can do it."

"Practice? Don't you mean learn?" Ryuzaki giggled a bit, seeing Kira's cheeks puff out a bit with his expression, which was actually a pretty cute frustrated expression. But still, he was one of the smartest people in his time, so he wouldn't let that comment slide.

"I feel challenged. Just for that comment, I am going to improve."

Kira looked at him intently for a moment, before chuckling "You're hopeless, but I have to admit, you're gutsy." He gestured for Ryuzaki to get on his back, "Come on, we gotta go or these won't be the only headless people to worry about, and I should probably unbury Near... hang on." He walked off into the forest, Ryuzaki following, and he helped Near out of the ditch and clean him off.

Near looked to Ryuzaki tiredly, "Glad to see you're back."

"Being back would be better if we weren't being attacked," Ryuzaki replied, examining Near's shoulder, "That's pretty bad. You need medical care quickly, and perhaps stitches. Will you be able to get care in the village?"

"Yeah," Near groaned, grabbing his shoulder, leaning against a tree, "I'd... I'd prefer if there wasn't a demon killing my people."

"Why the hell don't you have a demon slayer in this village?" Kira grumbled, "I get when L was alive he worked close enough to resident demon slayer as a priest, but surely getting a slayer in here would have been a good idea."

Ryuzaki cocked his head, "Demon slayers are a thing?"

"Yeah, and as the title suggests," Kira tore at more of Near's robes to create bandages, "Their job is just to kill demons. There's a village of demon slayers in the mountains if that's still a thing."

"Yeah, it's still a thing." Near grumbled, "Probably should have gotten a slayer to finish you off. As powerful as L's seal may be, a little slayer poison might have saved me some trouble."

"Can you two at least pretend you don't hate each other, please?" Ryuzaki asked, deciding to take this banter time to practice firing arrows into a nearby tree, and his aim was fine with a close target, and he wasn't in motion. But he knew that wasn't good enough. Maybe he could get some help from a slayer? After all, if he would be getting these Jewel shards, he would be slaying a lot of demons. "Near, is it safe to leave you here without you dying?"

"Yes, I'll be fine." Near closed his eyes, "It's a warm enough evening." He relaxed, and Kira got up, holding his hand out.

"Come on, we should get moving and find Yuri before she finds us." Ryuzaki grabbed onto Kira's neck to be carried, already tired of this method, and knew he would need to quickly find an alternative. If he was going to go on this quest, he wouldn't be going into it with wide eyes and hope that this will be fun.

He kept an eye out for hairs and helped Kira dodge them, and he fought back his terror as he noticed the main lines were gathering, meaning she was close.

The hairs tightened suddenly, slicing down the tree Kira was standing on and only barely managed to escape. Ryuzaki gripped onto Kira for dear life, "They're coming from the left! And right too!"

Kira somersaulted to evade them, but more appeared far faster than Kira could move while carrying an extra person. He landed on the rocky slope, looking up towards where he assumed their attackers were.

"Too many! Use your instincts to evade them!"

"What—?! I thought that's why you're here—!" 

"There! The right!" 

Kira jumped away, and for a few moments, he just jumped around while Ryuzaki shouted at him, until they were sliding down a slope. Ryuzaki wasn't able to shout in time as a bundle of the hair grabbed Kira's wrist, pulling him away and sending Ryuzaki tumbling to the ground. He groaned in pain from skidding, and he was sure he had whatever the feudal equivalent of road rash was.

It took him a few moments to get his bearings, and he looked down at his scraped up jeans. He pulled the robe tighter around himself, grateful for his scrawny form and hunching, making it ever so slightly oversized to wrap around his torso fully once he fastened it.

Grateful for the Jewel shard around his neck already making it easier to get up, he hurried over to Kira, just in time to see Yuri's sword slice through his chest as he was bound by restraints he couldn't see.

"Kira!" Unwilling to see his companion harmed in such a way, he pulled out an arrow and the bow, wishing he had a gun on him. Even if Kira had been able to catch a bullet, it was probably because he had heard the blast and prepared for something, so maybe a silencer would make things easier?

His aim wasn't great, but he managed to startle Yuri and make her dodge away from Kira instead of harming him further. She perched on one of her tightropes and eyed him as he had another arrow at the ready.

"Release Kira! Because I won't miss this time!" He eyed the massive ball of hair that he assumed was Yuri's lair of the sort, knowing he wouldn't be able to do any priest spells like L did. But if he could, would that do anything? Regardless, she still wasn't releasing Kira, and he glared, "Now! Hurry it up!"

Yuri giggled, "Release Kira, you say?" She looked to Kira mockingly, "You two must be quite close."

Kira forced his body to fight against the restraints and turn slightly, "Fool! Forget me and run!"

"No!" His hand slipped, and he accidentally fired the arrow, eyes wide in panic as it almost hit Kira in the head if he didn't duck, and it instead landed in the ball of hair, emitting blue light.

He didn't even hear Kira's angry shouting about watching where he aimed as he saw to his horror, the sphere of hair unraveling and countless skulls with the hair still attacked falling out of it in a sickening fashion. 

_ Alright. Headless bodies? I can handle that. This? This is just... No. Just no. This is not okay. _

Yuri was staring at him in a mix of fear and awe, "You really are the reincarnation of that shrine Priest." She pulled out a vibrant red comb, "I can't have you getting in the way." By running the comb over some of the strands, she lit them aflame and sent them at Ryuzaki. He was only able to react in time to pull up the hood of the robe and hide under it, curling into a ball to miss as much of the fire as possible and roll away unseen in the inferno. He was grateful to the Fire Rat robe, which, as the name suggested, made him not feel the pain of the fire.

...

Light smirked, knowing Ryuzaki was just fine even if he did stupidly choose to stay in the fire, but thankfully Yuri's matching smugness made her distracted.

It was a risky move, but he forced one of his bound hands to his bleeding chest and dug into the torn flesh, as he had discovered in his youth he could turn his own blood into blades.

By the time Yuri turned around, four red blades were flying at her, and one sliced off her hand, which had been holding the sword, causing the strands to slacken considerably. Not enough to free him, but certainly enough that it gave him a better ability to get more blood to use at the ready.

He noticed out of the corner of his eye the severed hand was still holding the sword and was caught by a few strands of hair. Yuri used her comb to control the unraveling ball of hair with falling skulls and the strands with her hand.

Now he felt more in his element, having some range of motion in his upper body, beating down skulls being thrown at him and dodging the sword, considering how he would get that comb from her.

Daring another attempt, he threw the blades of blood at her again, but this time she had a curtain of hair to block the attack.

He didn't even notice until it was too late, that hand coming back from behind, and the sword impaled him through the shoulder, and the hair slackened completely, sending him crashing to the ground painfully.

He looked up as he forced himself to get back up to little avail, and he saw her hand reattach. That meant it was pointless to physically attack her unless as a distraction. He had to find her weak spot before all else, and he was pretty damn sure it was here somewhere, assuming she had put all her eggs in one basket. Did she know the Jewel was shattered? From what Light knew, she probably didn't, meaning she would put her all into taking it from Ryuzaki.

And it seemed Ryuzaki had thought the same thing because he saw Ryuzaki climbing up hair Light couldn't see. This damn fight would be so easy if he could just see what he was supposed to be fighting! Hearing its movements did him no good when the sounds of this fight and nature in general overloaded his senses every time he tried to focus on one thing.

Yuri's attention was caught when she sensed Ryuzaki climbing, and she pulled back with the comb, causing Ryuzaki to lose his grip and fall, managing to cling onto some. Immediately Light could smell blood from Ryuzaki's hand.

He didn't know what caused it, but for some reason smelling that made him lose any semblance of self-control, and he forced himself to reign it in because he knew it was only Ryuzaki's connection to L that made him lose it. What the hell, he had broken away from L, why was this still happening?!

He picked up Yuri's fallen sword to bring himself some sense of control, slicing at her back to distract her, even if she healed instantly and a flick of her wrist brought him crashing painfully into the ground. A little pain was fine if it meant Ryuzaki could get to the weak spot, which was obviously up there if Yuri's expression said anything at all.

She then decided to ignore him and fly up to Ryuzaki, sword in hand, and Light roared, "You're not getting away!" And had the strength to tear away his restraints and get to Ryuzaki.

...

Ryuzaki tried to hide his disgust as he was forced to put his fingers into the skull of what he could tell by the slight wetness was a recently dead man.

He looked to the side and saw a sword coming at him, and he braced himself for a blow, then he saw all the hairs get cut and fall slack as red blades sliced clean through them. The sphere of hair started to collapse, bringing Ryuzaki with it.

He found himself safely in a protective hold in Kira's arms as the hanyou glared at him, "Don't you faint on me. I can't be looking after you."

They landed on the falling skulls, and Kira helped Ryuzaki onto the ground, where they were both on their knees panting; Ryuzaki saw Kira was bleeding profusely, and then he looked up, "Watch out, Kira!" He tried to pull Kira out of the way, but it was no use as the sword went through Kira's chest once again, and Ryuzaki could only hope it didn't hit anything vital.

Kira lay helpless, even if he forced himself to sit up. Ryuzaki turned to the side and saw the red skull with all the main hairs connected to it that he had identified as her weak spot. He crawled over to it while Yuri was distracted with Kira, and he took one of his spare arrows.

_ If it can't shoot this thing, I can use it to crack this skull. _

"Stop that!" Yuri shrieked, jumping at him, sword at the ready to land a killing blow. However, Ryuzaki found he didn't need that and rammed the arrow straight to the core, where it exploded, taking Yuri with it as she disintegrated, the sword tumbling next to Ryuzaki with a soft clinking noise. He immediately decided he would be taking that sword to use since it would be easier than a bow and arrow, tucking the sword through the belt loop of his jeans.

He examined the remains of the skull, finding a second red comb, and Kira came over. Ryuzaki held it up, "What's this?"

"That's the Adornment Comb of the Dead. It was used to comb the hair of the dead… which is probably how it got bewitched and tied to an apparition like Yuri. In this day and age, an enchanted comb or two is nothing to be surprised at." He cried out in pain and knelt down. Ryuzaki crawled over to him, pocketing the comb for Watari to examine later.

"Kira… you're badly hurt... You let me wear your kimono. Take off your tunic and let me see what can be done."

"It's nothing." Kira insisted, but the sheen of sweat on his brow and the trembling didn't do anything to help that idea, and Ryuzaki shook his head, moving and scooping a squirming Kira into his arms. "What are you—?!"

"I'm taking you back to my time," he adjusted Kira's weight, finding they probably didn't have much of a weight difference.

"Put me down," Kira rolled out of Ryuzaki's grip, "I can walk." He fumbled, and Ryuzaki smiled, wrapping Kira's arm around his shoulder,

"Sure you can. Come on, we can probably get back to the well before morning, and Watari can patch you up. I'll do some research and packing, and we can get back to finding Jewel shards."

"I'll be fine. I heal on my own just fine."

"I also don't want you getting impatient and looking for me, only to bring some other supernatural horror with you." He hummed a bit, "What scared you so much about the sky in my world?"

Kira hesitated, "There were no stars or moon."

"That's light pollution and it was most likely a New Moon."

"But it's not a New Moon here."

"I'm from a different time, so the moon phases are probably different."

Kira didn't seem to want to talk anymore, just mumbling a small, "Right."

Ryuzaki chuckled, "You know, we might need to improve, but all things considered, that could have gone worse. Maybe with time, you'll actually learn to see I'm not just L."

"Trust me," Kira smirked a bit, "L wouldn't be stealing a dead apparition's sword."

"Is it considered rude around here?"

"Not really. He just couldn't use a sword to save his life."

Even if that wasn't all too funny, Ryuzaki still found himself laughing, be it from the gratitude that he really was his own person or the relief they had survived, and surely things would only be about that difficult.

Kira reluctantly started joining in, and the two were much more relaxed by the time they got to the well.

As Kira peered down the well, Ryuzaki really looked at him. He didn't know what it was, but he couldn't help but think maybe this adventure truly wouldn't be the worst thing ever.


	8. Aristocratic Assassin, Sayu

Sayu stared intently at the full moon. Over fifty years, she had searched for her father's tomb, even if most of her people had long since lost any care on the matter. Some even said that as demon nobility, the location of her father's final resting place shouldn't concern her.

She brushed back a strand of her brunette hair, allowing the purple crescent moon adorning her forehead to be seen. She heard the sound of Sidoh's excitement long before he would be in a mortal's earshot and calmly walked in that direction. Could today be the day?

"Lady Sayu! Lady Sayu!" Sidoh's staff was floating in front of him, and the Shinigami followed it. Her father had assisted the Shinigami centuries ago, so some chose to stick around with the inugami, while others chose to serve humans with noble hearts. Sidoh was her companion throughout her life, and Ryuk used to be her brother's companion before he fell into an eternal sleep. She grimaced at the thought of the brother their father had died for.

"Is it here?" She asked when they had come to a stop, and Sidoh turned around.

"Yes. The staff hasn't failed us before, and it's pointed in this direction, then lodged itself by this tomb. I'll check it immediately." He hurried in, and mere moments later, wolves appeared behind the boulders, snarling viciously, and would have no doubt scared any mortal away, and perhaps Sidoh. Sayu just cocked her head, waiting to see what would happen.

Sidoh seemed excited, "Lady Sayu! This is it! There's no mistake!"

Something about this didn't seem right to Sayu at all. After all these years, this was where her father, the Great Dog Demon, had been laid to rest? Surely anyone would give him more respect, even if it did make some form of sense that the tomb would be so obscure. But she expected more, for lack of a better descriptor.

One of the wolves had gotten close to Sayu, the sleeve of her kimono almost touching its head. She examined the wolf to see if she was in for a fight, knowing her physical appearance as nothing more than a beautiful mortal princess would throw off any human attacker. But she could tell these wolves already knew not to underestimate her, even if they didn't know quite yet what they were dealing with.

"The fang…" she decided to explain, even if they did not understand, "I search for the fang. Once I possess it, I will surpass my father and have even greater power... and keep it away from my brother." She looked to the wolves, who did not seem to get it. She wasn't lucky, and they were secretly wolf demons she could converse with, though if they were, she would have already been tipped off to this not being the right place as wolf demons and dog demons were similar but different. "My power is still insufficient. I'm still too naïve. Am I unsure of myself?" She looked at her false arm specially crafted for her after losing it in a battle forty years ago. For demons, that didn't seem like much, but Sayu was still considered young, so it made a big difference in her power. "No… I just don't know my limits." She raised her other hand, which emitted a green glow, which sent the wolves running away when she made it very clear she could destroy them, and it was her choice if they lived or died. 

When they were gone, Sayu walked to the stone structure, which had charms strung across it.

"Sidoh, the staff."

Sidoh flew up to the top of the structure, placing the staff on the stone, and waited. The two heads on the top of the staff have their eyes closed, one female and one old man. The female head slowly rose, and she opened her eyes. Her mouth opened, and shrieked. Sayu fought back a groan, knowing full well what that meant, and she didn't even wait to hear Sidoh's confusion before turning to leave.

It took Sidoh a moment to realize she was gone, and she heard the shout of, "Lady Sayu, please wait!"

It didn't escape her notice when she saw Ryuk in the trees, watching her. The matters of her brother's former companion were of no concern to her, and she knew enough about him to know he was probably here either for apples or had followed her for entertainment. Neither concerned her unless he became a burden.

When he took off into the forest, she couldn't help but wonder where he was going. He had probably just been here for apples if he was leaving so soon. No matter, it was none of her business.

She walked for a short while until she heard the sounds of an army, and they were discussing food inside one of the tents, it seemed. There were some guards on duty, and for the time being, Sayu brushed her bangs over her moon emblem to give the appearance of a mere human girl. Hopefully, she could be in and out before Sidoh caused a fuss.

"Excuse me," she stepped inside, batting her eyelashes as she had seen attracted human men, "I need a boat."

She could feel the eyes of all the men on her, and she giggled just a bit. 

The General came up to her, and she already knew all the basic flirting strategies he was going to try, and she didn't pay it much mind until he tried to tell her to come to bed with him. Hearing that, she wordlessly grabbed his neck and snapped it, causing the battalion to look on in horror. Sayu casually tossed the man's body away. If there was one thing she hated, it was those who thought women were just tools to use, be it for sexual purposes or otherwise.

As she walked out of the tent and decided to take a boat for herself, she knew she had the battalion ready to attack her, and then Sidoh appeared among the tall grasses, looking perplexed. "Lady Sayu, I can't find any boats in this area!" He then looked in front of him, "Of course you already found them."

There was an eruption of horror and panic from the crowd at the sight of the Shinigami, as would be expected, even if Sidoh didn't look like a giant insect.

One warrior turned back to Sayu, "You're not mortal, are you?"

"Demons!" Another screamed, "We'll kill you! Surround them!"

Sayu chuckled, looking back over her shoulder with apathy, "Sidoh, I'll let you deal with them." She went to grab some supplies, knowing that after tonight, the soldiers would retreat from whatever war they were supposed to fight in the morning because they needed a new general. 

Sidoh pulled out his Death Note and began writing names at his mistress's command. One of the reasons he had chosen to be with Sayu was because she always made sure to remind him to not lose his notebook, which had apparently been a problem a few times.

Sayu grabbed some supplies and put them in the boat she was going to take, and Sidoh came over, "It's over and done with, my Lady." As he walked, the staff suddenly flew out of his hand, and the eyes of the old man on the Human Head Staff glow an eerie red, and it began floating away.

"The staff changed directions, my lady. Is the location of the fang moving?"

Sayu narrowed her eyes at it. How could the fang be moving? Had someone managed to find her father's tomb before her? She got in the boat, and Sidoh flew alongside it as it moved. They were in silence for a while until Sidoh spoke,

"Lady Sayu…"

"What is it?"

"The location of the tomb. Shouldn't we ask Lord Kira where it is?"

"Kira?" Sayu turned away from him with a silent huff, "It's a name I'd rather not think about. Besides, he is not alive. A spell was cast upon him fifty years ago."

"Yes…but I have heard that the spell was undone only recently, by the reincarnation of the Priest L!" He gestured to the staff, "If the staff is moving, and he is your father's eldest and son, maybe it has something to do with his awakening."

Sayu froze, eyes wide. She had vaguely heard something about that but dismissed it as a traveler's tale. If it was true, her brother could know where the tomb was. But if he knew where the fang was...

It seemed she would have to go see what Kira was doing now that he was awake. If the Priest had returned, she couldn't help but be concerned as to what that could entail.


	9. The Tomb

Perhaps it was disturbing to watch Kira sleep, but given the events of the last few days in his time, Ryuzaki found the Hanyou's responses to the new things he had encountered was fascinating.

Kira was sleeping on his side, curled up in the blankets and using Ryuzaki's neck support pillow. When he had seen the bed, he had been extremely confused about what it was, not understanding that people could sleep in such luxury. He had asked if Ryuzaki was nobility, not even in a mocking way, but as a genuine question.

From what Ryuzaki gathered, seeing how Kira had messed his hair up from where he had fallen asleep with a blanket on his head, Kira didn't seem to fully understand he was safe. Now that he thought about it, had he ever seen Kira sleep in any way that wasn't sleeping in a sitting position against the wall?

Kira moved a bit while sleeping and accidentally unbuttoned his sleep shirt, and Ryuzaki took note that the wounds were completely gone, not even a scar. That certainly explained why he had refused stitches or any form of medical treatment. Watari had wanted to drag him to the hospital, but it seemed Kira had some concept of what medical care was. Bathing had been an experience to show Kira how it and plumbing worked, especially in his exhausted state, but it had worked.

He had been sleeping now for two days, as though he hadn't slept for fifty years on a tree and woken barely a week ago. Though perhaps that hadn't counted as sleep and more death.

While the Hanyou slept, Ryuzaki had stayed with him to make sure he didn't get into trouble, and he buried himself in his books to learn anything he could about Inugami and Hanyou to determine what he was dealing with.

He couldn't find anything on Hanyou quite yet, but what he discovered about Inugami sickened him.

Inugami were frequently created through horrific rituals and general crimes against animals that even Ryuzaki, a world-famous detective, didn't want to think about it. Regardless, for whatever reason, Inugami were extremely loyal to their master, specifically to one person or family, and they would remain loyal forever unless they were mistreated. That made some form of sense, given what he knew about dogs.

Typically Inugami were used to bring prosperity and wealth to that family or even curse an opposing family. However, a mistreated Inugami would often turn on their master and ruin the family or even lead to their deaths. In the event of the master's death, the Inugami could be passed down the family as an heirloom. 

The idea of an Inugami, even a half-Inugami, being linked to one human for eternity and being willing to do anything for that person was extremely disturbing in Ryuzaki's eyes. As an Inugami, that meant Kira would have to protect the one he is linked to, and if he was right, that person was L, and it had been passed down to Ryuzaki himself.

That was why Ryuzaki had contemplated removing the rosary from around Kira's neck while he slept. The only reason he hadn't was in the event Kira didn't have time to duck an attack or tried to harm others. Hopefully, he would never have to use the Osuwari command for any reason.

But it did beg the question of what exactly happened between L and Kira for him to break away from his possible master, but it was still passed to Ryuzaki. Had Kira regretted something in the end with that arrow in his chest? It did make sense now why Near blamed Kira so strongly for L's death even through the insistence he hadn't touched L, but how long had they been broken apart?

A thought occurred to him... was it possible something else had driven them apart like a misunderstanding, and the misfortune of his Inugami breaking away led to L's death?

He didn't know what exactly to think, and he didn't want to risk anything with Kira. This was another reason to never use the Osuwari command unless strictly necessary. But he couldn't help but feel like this possible connection between them through no fault of either of them was unfair in a way. Regardless, he couldn't help but hope he and Kira could get along, so this duty to protect would be genuine and not an inherited chore.

Watari came in, "Is he awake yet?" Ryuzaki examined Kira again and saw his breathing was beginning to slowly change,

"He should shortly, but not yet." He looked up to his caretaker, and his eyes lit up to see the little safe place of the Jewel that Watari was holding. He put the little portable safe around his neck, testing the weight.

"I suggest you also take a gun," Watari insisted, but Ryuzaki shook his head,

"I don't want to risk changing time until I can determine if everything that will happen while I am in the past has already happened in consideration of the future we live now, to avoid paradoxes."

"Understandable," he gestured to the heavy-duty bulletproof backpack in the corner of the room and the bike, "Those are risky enough, I suppose."

"Correct. The supplies like clothes and such are ready as well?"

"As well as running shoes for Kira-San."

"Good," he had checked Kira's feet while he slept and noticed he didn't really have claws on his feet. So he tested shoes and socks to see what would work since running barefoot seemed haphazard.

Linda came in too, "Do you have to go?" She asked, her eyes watering, and he hugged her,

"I already told you, I have to go retrieve the rest of the Shikon Jewel before more trouble can come from it. I'll hopefully be back soon."

"Hm?" He turned and saw Kira slowly opening his eyes and stretching with popping and cracking noises as he did so. He blinked a few times as he looked around at his surroundings before remembering where he was. "Oh. Right."

"Did you sleep well?" Ryuzaki asked, "You've been out for approximatly fifty-one hours."

"I guess I did sleep well then," Kira fumbled out of bed and into the hallway, "Where's my robe?"

"It's in the closet," Ryuzaki called after him, getting up and showing him where the closet was with his fireproof robes. Watari had tried testing on it, and even he couldn't figure out how to replicate it just yet. They purchased a cheap knockoff online but found it burned up like any other piece of clothing, and it also didn't have the vibrant red color of Kira's.

Kira didn't seem to be paying attention, holding his robe, and wandering into the kitchen, "What's this?"

"It's where we cook food." He dug into the pantry, "Here," he held out a bag of potato chips, "Do you want some?"

"Food in a bag?" He poked at it with suspicion. Ryuzaki opened the bag, and Kira examined the chip in his hand, cocking his head, "How...?"

"It's been over four hundred years, surely things have even changed in however long you've been alive."

"230 years, though I guess for me it feels like 180."

"Oh. Wow. So do you age slower, or do you just stop aging at some point?"

"I don't know," Kira replied, "I... I'm the first Hanyou to be born, at least that anyone is aware of."

"Born? Is it possible for a Hanyou to be made?"

"That's how a lot of demons came into being, so I would assume so." He ate the chip and seemed to be taken aback by it, "It's actually good."

Ryuzaki chuckled, handing him the rest of the bag, "Enjoy that. I'm probably going to pack more food since we're going to need it for our trip."

Kira snapped out of it, "Right. We have to find the damn Jewel. We're leaving in an hour." He headed back into the other room, probably to change, and Ryuzaki rolled his eyes as he pulled some cake out of the fridge. He had been breaking in his hiking boots for the last few days and had faith they would work.

After an hour and it seemed Kira had decided to figure out how to work the shower and soaps and only through some miracle didn't break anything, the two of them were ready to go down into the well. Kira looked down at the shoes he had been offered, stomping the ground experimentally with one foot as though he didn't know how to feel about it.

He hopped down into the well, and Ryuzaki went down with the bike using a ladder, and once they got to the past, Kira helped him and the bike out of the well.

"Someone is going to steal that," Kira said, and Ryuzaki shrugged,

"I am hoping they won't know what they're doing long enough to give me time to get it back." He hopped on, and now was able to keep up with Kira without being carried, and they made it to the village in only a few minutes, and he was surprised to see a hulking creature in Near's hut with him.

However, Kira seemed to recognize the demon lying on the hut floor as though it was exhausted, "Ryuk?"

Ryuk sat up, "Well what do you know! You really are awake. It's been a long time, Li—" he shut up when Kira glowered at him, and Ryuzaki couldn't help but wonder what Ryuk had been about to say that he didn't want either Near or Ryuzaki to hear.

"It has been a while," Kira replied, gesturing to Ryuzaki, "I assume you've heard about him too."

Ryuk examined Ryuzaki, "L's reincarnation?"

"Well, yes," Ryuzaki replied, "But from what I gather I'm a failure of a reincarnation."

Ryuk shrugged, "Either way, you'll be interesting. Especially since your sister is looking for your father's tomb, Kira. But all she found was the stone memorial. The true gravesite is somewhere else."

Kira's brow furrowed as he sat down, "Then, where is it?" Ryuzaki was more shocked that Kira's sister didn't know where her own father's tomb was. Was that a demon thing? Had their father died in secret? Was Kira's sister a hanyou too?

Near didn't seem to care all too much, pouring some tea, "Kira, I heard that your father was a phantom dog that once ruled over the western region."

"That's right!" Ryuk sat up, "He was one of the most powerful demons out there." Ryuzaki looked over at Kira, wondering if that meant he was some kind of yokai prince.

"What about his mother? She was human, right?" He instantly noticed he had struck a nerve, and he remembered Kira mentioning how old he was, meaning his mother, if she was human like Ryuzaki suspected, was long dead.

Kira stepped out of the hut, "That's not relevant. My mother died a long time ago!"

Ryuk noticed Ryuzaki's apologetic look, "Don't be sorry, he just prefers not to think about her."

"I would assume it has something to do with him being mad about being half-human," Near drawled, but Ryuk laughed at the notion,

"Nah, he just doesn't like thinking about how she's dead, and what happened after that."

Ryuzaki flinched. So Kira really was an orphan, just like him. He shouldn't be surprised by this information, but he remembered what it was like to lose his own parents. He got up to talk to Kira and see if he was alright, noticing children trying to figure out how the bike worked.

He found Kira at his usual tree, staring into space. He was about to ask if Kira was alright when a strong gust of ominous wind sent him off-balance, and Kira jumped down unexpectedly and covered Ryuzaki, pinning him to the ground.

"There's something weird coming," Kira bared his teeth, and Ryuzaki looked up at him,

"I could figure that out on my own, you know." He looked up at the sky, and in the light of the full moon, what seemed to be a palanquin was floating across the sky, with several small demons guarding it. "That's a noble's palanquin, right?"

From the back of the palanquin, Ryuzaki saw a young woman bound in chains inside. She was pretty, and her robes suggested she was royalty. Ryuzaki narrowed his eyes with suspicion,

"A floating carriage with a woman inside? It's obviously a demon trap. Let's go the other way." He got up and grabbed Kira's hand to pull him away, only to be met with resistance. "Kira?"

Kira's words had Ryuzaki shocked.

"M-Mother…?"

The woman in the palanquin caught sight of them below and struggled against her bonds, "It is you... Light!" She yelped as her restraints were tightened.

Light? Ryuzaki didn't have time to question that, needing to grab Kira's hand to prevent him from attacking,

"Kira, how can that be your mother? You said she's dead, remember? Can the dead come back?"

Kira faltered and looked up to where his mother seemingly was, "Then what..." a blur appeared in Ryuzaki's peripheral vision, and suddenly Kira was being held up by the throat by a clearly demon woman who, judging by their shared features, was his sister. Ryuzaki instantly realized that while Kira may be half-demon, his sister was pure-blooded, as he struggled against her.

"Sayu!" 

Ryuzaki found himself restrained by a massive bug-like Shinigami, and he fought against it, but his arms were at just the angle he couldn't escape without dislocating something.

"I never imagined it would be there," Sayu mused, "Very clever… That father would pick such a place. The black pearl… Father didn't want anyone to disturb his resting place, so he hid his tomb there."

Kira grabbed his sister's hand that had hold of him, "What kind of nonsense are you talking about?!" Sayu seemed mildly surprised by the response,

"So you were entrusted with the tomb unknowingly. Well then, would you like to visit father's grave with me?" She held up two fingers right in front of Kira's face, and it emitted a spark from his right eye, causing a groan in pain from Kira that had Ryuzaki struggling harder,

"Hey!"

Sayu pulled her fingers towards her, and a black orb was extracted from Kira's iris. She took the orb and plopped Kira onto the ground, letting him press his hand to his eye. Ryuzaki was freed and ran over to him.

"Kira!"

Sayu examined the black pearl, "No wonder it was useless looking underground. Visible, but invisible. The true protector of the grave cannot be seen. And… it is the black pearl embedded in your right eye." 

Kira lowered his hand, revealing the pupil of his right eye was gone, "And just for that… You tricked me with my dead mother's image…!"

"I'm sorry," Sayu replied, though Ryuzaki was doubtful of how genuine she was, "I wouldn't have thought you would care, and I needed to have you distracted. But I will have you know it was the original plan to use a phantom to kill you with her image instead, this seemed much more merciful by comparison."

"Why you…!" Kira growled and jumped up, ready to attack her, but Sayu didn't seem largely concerned by this. It was then that Ryuzaki noticed one of her arms seemed to be almost made of something not unlike Alita Battle Angel.

Sidoh came over, holding out the staff, and Sayu grinned, "How I have waited for this moment." She turned to her older brother, "I hope you don't mind."

Ryuzaki whispered to Kira, "Did something happen between you two?"

"Don't ask."

Sayu dropped the pearl on the ground and poked the lower end of the staff with it, causing the head of the old man on it to cackle, causing the hair on the back of Ryuzaki's neck to stand up as a portal opened up in the air, and Sayu and Sidoh walked inside of it.

Kira got up, "I'm going in there. Ryuzaki, it's dangerous, so you stay here—" Ryuzaki was already climbing through the entrance, "Huh?"

"Will you hurry up?" He jumped inside, mostly because he wanted to understand what was going on. Whatever happened between the two siblings, it seemed Sayu was almost uncomfortable with what she had done, but it didn't stop her. And why had the image of Kira's mother called him Light? And it seemed Ryuk had almost called him the same thing, so Kira did recognize it. Was Kira an alias, and Light was his true name?

When they reached the end of the portal, Ryuzaki and Kira floated in the sky above a desolate and rocky landscape. A gigantic skull of what seemed to be a dog stood in the middle of the land, resting on top of an armored dome of sorts. 

"I really hope we don't have to walk there," Ryuzaki grumbled and then found himself and Kira caught by a skeletal bird, "Oh, look, deus-ex-machina."

"What?"

"It's something from my time meaning something that's super convenient."

As the bird flew towards the skull, Kira seemed extremely uncomfortable, "Father…"

Ryuzaki looked to his companion, "These bones are your father's?"

"Can't you tell?"

Ryuzaki looked around at the bones, "Well, even if you say that… How was I to know? Do demons have a human form? Your sister is pure-demon, right? She's not..."

"She's got a dog form too," Kira replied, "All full-blooded demons have a demon and human-like form." He looked and saw Ryuk had flown with them, "This is my father's truest form, or..." he slumped, "Was."

Ryuzaki didn't know what to say, so he looked to Ryuk, "What does Sayu even want here?"

"Probably the sword Kira's supposed to inherit. If she gets it, her power will be able to rival her father."

They flew to the top of a massive chamber, and in the center, a sword embedded into a platform.

And in front of that platform, approaching the sword, was Sayu.


End file.
